Curioser and Curioser
by Zacharias11
Summary: Welcome to Lutwidge Academy, the prestigious school founded by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson and now run by his granddaughter, Edgith. And now please welcome miss Alice Fageon, the newest edition to LA. But hmm... oh dear, it seems she's run into some trouble... (read and enjoy :) )
1. Prologue

**A/N:** I do not own any of the Alice books, The no kuni no Alice game series and other Alice related works. Only this one. Enjoy yourselves! :)

**Prologue**

She walked down the empty street with no intention of turning back, honestly, she didn't know _how _to get back but as if she would admit that.

It wasn't her fault a strange blue eyed cat appeared as she waited for her mom an front of kindergarten school and being the adventurist she was, she chased after it as it ran off across the street.

And now here she was... lost.

She'd admit she was slightly scared, walking around an unfamiliar place, not knowing what might jump at her; but she kept a straight face, not wanting to admit defeat.

As time passed and she started to grow tired, she planned on resting for a bit before continuing, when something white caught her eye.

She starred at it wide-eyed and the round ball of white with its pink eyes and long ears looked back at her.

She hadn't seen anything so... _cute_.

What did mommy say it was? A ra? A rag-? A...

Then it started to hop away and she quickly followed it without a second thought. _Come back, Mr. Rabbit!_

Like she did with the cat, she chased it with all her might, not pondering the fact that she might get even _more _lost.

She was hot on the rabbits heels and was about to bend down to grab it when it suddenly hopped through a bush making her stop for a moment before she got on her knees and hands and crawled through the tangle of leaves and splintery wood.

As she neared the other side, her bag suddenly got caught on the thin branches of the bush and she had to abandon it there, not wanting to lose the rabbit.

She stood up straight and dusted her knees, glancing about to see where the rabbit had gone.

She almost jumped in glee when she saw it just sitting there, its pink eyes looking at her again with interest.

Not a moment sooner, she was running again, towards the bundle of white fur as said bundle just sat there, as if it was waiting for her.

She quickened her pace and stretched a hand out to hold it, when the world suddenly came swirling around her as she heard the leaves rustling and then everything went dark.

She kept still for a moment, confused and shaking like a leaf from fear and shock. _What's going on?_

Her eyes slowly opened and she saw leaves at the side of her face and a wall of earth was surrounding her. She carefully sat up and noticed she was lying on a pile of fallen leaves from above, some stuck to her blonde hair but she didn't care at the moment.

She looked up and saw that she had fallen through a hole and peaked up to see that she had indeed fallen for she was still inside the forest she came to follow the rabbit into

The rabbit?

She looked around but to her dismay, the rabbit had already gone away leaving her there in the hole.

After thinking for a moment, she decided to hoist herself up and out of that hole and begin her search for the rabbit. But after trying for a couple of times and jumping up and down repeatedly, she was unable to. The hole was too deep to climb out from.

She tried again only to fall back on her butt on the soft leaves.

"Is anybody there? Hello?" she called out, hoping someone had managed to pass by and hear her, but after a while of waiting, no one had come for her.

The leaves rustled against the soft caress of the wind, and the birds merrily chirped above without a care in the world. Meanwhile, a little girl with slightly watery baby blue eyes and a tousle of wavy blonde hair covered with leaves, sat rigidly inside a hole she had fallen into, the only noise she made was her silent sobs of missing her mother and hoping she would soon be found

_I'm sorry I let Dinah out of the house_

_I'm sorry I climbed the top of the cabinets to get Ada down from the shelf_

_I wanna go home_

_I wanna see my mother again_

_I-_

"Are you quite alright?"

The new voice surprised her and she quickly looked up and saw pink eyes looking at her.

She immediately wiped up her blurry eyes thinking to herself that the rabbit just spoke to her. But when she looked up again it was actually a boy with pretty pink eyes.

She had thought she was dreaming for she knew rabbits could not turn into boys and yet this person in front of her looked so similar to the rabbit with his pink eyes and snow white hair.

"Excuse me, miss?" he asked snapping her out of her thoughts as he merely looked at her with curious eyes

"Y-Yes?" she stuttered out, surprised. Could they speak too?

"Do you need any assistance climbing out of this hole?" he asked further gesturing to her below

"Assistance?" she was so distracted by the boy being once a rabbit that she had forgotten she had fallen down a hole. "O-Oh! Yes! Can you please give me a hand?" she requested standing to her feet, looking at him expectantly

The boy cautiously knelt down on the edge of the hole and reached his hand in which the girl grabbed hold of as he slowly pulled her up.

Once out she dusted her clothes and picked out the leaves and dirt in her hair

"Thank you for helping me" she gleamed trying to get out a stubborn twig in her hair

He reached in and carefully took it out muttering an 'Of course'

After she was once again prim and proper except for the smug on her skirt, she asked a question, "What's you name, mister?"

"Robert" he said shortly, nochalantly

_That sounds like Rabbit!, _she though whimsically

"And my name's Alice" she said smiling brightly

"Alice?" it was a question, surprise coloring his features a bit

She looked at him oddly, "Yes, is there something wrong with it?" she asked, wondering. Her friends at kindergarten didn't think her name was strange

He shook his head, his stoic expression back on, "No"

He spoke again after a moment

"Alice"

"Yes?"

"Would you like to be my friend?"

And that was the beginning of it...

* * *

><p><strong>See You Again Folks! :3<strong>


	2. 1 o'clock

**N/A: **Sorry, I got bored and decided to just place the chapter anyway. I do not own any Alice work (except this one) and I thank you for reading. Also, I apologize for those who get offended due to the places mentioned and the names written, I used darts to choose. :3

**1 o' clock**

_**Ding!**_

... of a majorly huge _headache_!

Alice plopped down on her bed once more, absolutely tired of being dragged around like a dog on a leash in the middle of a super sunny afternoon with the sun beating down on her head like a pan over a stove.

That was the last time she lets him force her somewhere who knows where, this time it just so happens to be a crummy old coffee house in Manchester where he had said serves the best coffee there. and she knew, because it was the _only _coffee house in the city.

And to top things of, he had woken her up at 6 in the morning just to take subways and buses to get there and back, where he took that single cup of coffee at 11 AM.

It wasn't all bad though, he took her out to lunch in a nice little restaurant in Liverpool before returning to London, and at least he didn't take her to Glasgow or Edinburgh, the last time they went there, it took them almost a day to get there and she was starting to get sick of riding on subways and box-shaped buses especially with her friend droning on about the city they were headed to without cease.

She wonders why he couldn't just accept a _no _from her and let her rest for even a day or so, but the man is so persistent, sometimes he'll just drag her off without even letting her speak.

That infuriating Robert!

Robert?

Rabbit?

Robert.

Rabbit.

Robert Rabbit!

She smiled to herself.

Even though more than 10 years have passed, she still couldn't get over the strange coincidence. Having your best friend look so similar to the furry little creatures can make anyone feel so silly. The concept of it was just too ridiculous. And yet, to think she didn't get over that possibility until she turned 10.

Alice turned on her side still in her skirt and shirt that she wore to Manchester.

It was definitely a place she would never return to anytime soon and she'd be damned to let Robert drag her there again

Her phone suddenly rung in her pocket, _Easter Hunt_ by _The Rabbits _played rhythmically from its small speakers.

Aside from looking like a rabbit - based on eye and hair color - Robert had an unmatchable addiction to them. No one in the right mind would watch Bugs Bunny movies for 12 hours straight. He took her along with him but she feel asleep after 10 minutes which he barely noticed. He was still watching when she woke up and continued so when she went home.

She fished out her phone from her pocket and pressed the call key before placing it on her ear.

"What now, Robert?" she huffed impatiently. "I do not want to go out of London again, I just got home you know" she continued. Actually she's been here for almost 2 hours but she was still dead tired.

"What? No. I don't want you to be too sleepy to go to school tomorrow" he said, quite offended from the other end.

Her eyes widened in shock. Wait, today's Sunday, right? Oh crap! School's tomorrow!

"Tomorrow? But I-...! Why didn't you tell me?" she sputtered out quickly getting on a sitting position on her unmade bed.

"I'm telling you now, aren't I?" he answered smartly, unaffected by her panic.

"But I don't even have my uniform! I don't even have my ID! And for heaven's sake, I haven't even _enrolled_ yet!" she nearly screamed pacing around her room like a panicking mother for her lost child.

"What? I've told you I enrolled you already, remember?" he said, smiling.

Her pacing stopped, "Enrolled me? When?" she demanded, not recalling anytime Robert had told her that.

"In August. i told you about it when we were in the Amusement Park a week ago" he explained, as Alice desperately thought back to that day.

Then it clicked.

A nerve struck in her temple, "You could've told when we weren't riding the _roller coaster_!" she screamed. Thank you for sound proof walls.

"But I wouldn't remember it when we get off so I said it anyway" he reasoned out, smiling without the woman in the other line knowing.

Alice sighed. "You really are the master of bad timing" she commented sitting back down on her bed, not knowing if she should be thanking him or continue yelling.

He beat her in speaking though.

"Oh and by the way, I called because I wanted to know if my men have arrived there yet" he said and she had a bad feeling about this.

"Your... men?" she repeated slowly making her way to the window and drawing the blinds, the sight made her jump.

Parked right in front of their house on the street were two black cars, or a car and a limousine with two men in black standing in front of the gate to their house and two more beside the door and the back of the limou.

"So, have they arrived?" he asked curiously snapping her train of thought in two.

"Y-Yah" was all she managed to say as she saw her mother go outside to greet them.

"Good"

Then as if on cue, the door of the limou suddenly opened and came out was Robert himself, holding the phone to his ear and looking up at her window with a smile on his lips.

Good thing the windows in her room were tinted or he would've seen how angry she was with him.

The second she got down, men in black quickly came up to the 2nd floor after Robert told them where her room was, all of whom were carrying colorfully wrapped presents with lacey ribbons on top.

Any girl would've jumped through the roof on receiving so many presents but Alice was not any girl, instead, she felt agitated knowing her supposed _best friend_ was up to something.

As the 3 men in black came up carrying gifts up to her room, then went out to get more, she managed to snap out of staring at them like well-efficient robots and start looking for Robert.

Her first guess was that he would be drinking tea in the dining room while letting his staff in eerie black suits and shades do his biding, and, what do yah know, he was.

Robert White was sitting casually on one of the dining room chairs, sipping his tea, talking with her mother over the table about their trip to Manchester and acting as if nothing was happening outside; how his staff were working their butts off for his lazy ass.

She didn't know if it was the stress and fatigue of travelling all day or the fact she didn't know what he was planning with all the presents he had brought along on his little uninvited visit, but something really irked her seeing those men in suits slave away without a care.

And she knew from knowing Robert for so long, that he's used his men like tools to do hard or difficult tasks, or even little or ridiculous ones. She distinctively remembers them once being ordered to find her pen, making them spread all over the city to find it, she had hit Robert hard on the head but they had found it anyway in the department store they went to after school.

Although she had to give them props for their dedication to their work, she still felt like they were being over worked by their silly headed boss.

She walked towards the dining set where her mother and Robert were still chatting and only paused when she pulled up the chair next to Robert and poured herself a cup of tea.

Robert adored tea and brought them 3 tea sets since he was always at the house in the past but now they were too busy travelling around.

"Hello dear. How was Manchester?" her mother asked smiling at her, Alice smiled back. Mom just had such a bright smile, it never fails to cheer anyone up.

Scary. Dry. Dark. Dull, were the words that popped into her mind but she just shrugged and muttered a "Fine"

She nodded gleefully. "Oh, and by the way, how is Edgith these days, Robert? I haven't heard from her in a while" she asked turning her head to Robert once more before taking a sip of her tea.

"Mom's doing wonderful. She's very excited in seeing Alice tomorrow at school. Although she's worried that we might be imposing on forcing Alice to join Lutwidge" he answered, smiling at her; then turning quite down-hearted.

Alice wanted to sigh in irritation, remembering how her mother was so glad she was applying to the prestigious Lutwidge Academy, when she had told her just yesterday that she was going to St. Martin's University. But she couldn't burst her mom's happy bubble and after punching Robert in the face, agreed to apply.

And when he told her he got everything covered, he _literally _did. Ending with her finding out, not an hour ago, she was going to Lutwidge the next morning.

"No, not at all. Were thrilled to have Alice enter Lutwidge. Right, dear?" she asked, pleading with her eyes for her to say yes.

"Yah" she consented, straining a smile and her mom couldn't be any happier. Robert never suspected a thing.

As her daughter, Alice could understand why her mom wanted her to enter Lutwidge so badly. It was a prestigious school for the rich and intelligent middle class, who got scholarships. And the number of successful graduates they produce every year got Lutwidge into the good books of any family who wanted nothing more but the best for their children's education.

Unfortunately, for a middle class family like Alice's who only got their income from her father working as a professor at St. Martin's University, they would never be able to afford the huge school expenses.

However, there was one way that she could get into Lutwidge and not have to spend a single dime.

Yup, that's where Robert comes in. For he is the son of the president/owner of Lutwidge Academy, Edgith White.

And with that, Robert talked to her mom, got to run the paperwork and such. And Alice was now booked to become a Lutwidge Academy student along with Robert.

Alice could've still refused, her mom might be slightly upset but she wasn't the kind of parent to force her child to do whatever she wanted to happen. Alice was 18 now, she could make her own decisions.

Her best friend didn't seem to share the same opinion though.

Ever since they were young or ever since he learned the magic word, _I dare __you_, he had gone through a lot of pain and glee from her, since Alice was not a person that backed down from dares or bets - except when it involved money, she didn't like gambling. With those 3 words, Robert had managed to control part of her life but she was satisfied a bit as well since she got reasons to hit him when she got angry. She thought he was insane for not banning her from laying a hand on him but she already knew long ago that he was already out of his knocker.

So, basically, that's how it went down with going to Lutwidge, he asked her, she refused, he dared, she punched then agreed, afterwards he smiled despite the pain on his cheek.

Just an everyday conversation between the two of them.

By the time, Alice finished her thinking/spacing out trip, Robert and her mom had already finished their tea and her mother was busy washing up the tea set in the kitchen adjoining the dining room.

Alice got up as well, giving her mom her empty cup then returning to Robert who smiled at her across the table, his usual whimsical smile that told her he was very amused.

"So, Alice. What's up?" he asked casually.

She crossed her arms over her chest, "You most certainly know what's up, Robert. Why did you bring me all of those gifts?" she asked, straight to the point. "What are you planning?" her eyes squinted in suspicion and annoyance.

"Planning? Why I'm not planning anything, dear Alice. Giving gifts to friends for no special reason is not a crime, is it not?" he explained smiling still.

"Yes, I'll have to agree with that but..." she made her way upstairs and he followed. She took hold of the door knob to her room and faced him, " ... giving an inhumane amount of presents to your friend that practically drowns her room with them _IS_!" with that she burst open her bed room door and stacks of wrapped boxes came tumbling out into the hall, Alice had her door for protection while Robert was across her on the other side of the door frame.

The way the boxes fell out reminded her of a waterfalls and when she peeked inside, she confirmed that the room was definitely filled with hundreds of colorfully wrapped presents.

What a waste of paper.

Robert looked at her curiously and took out a small black book from his pocket, whilst scanning the pages he muttered, "There doesn't seem to be a rule like that"

Alice had the urge to punch a certain person but she kept her temper at the minimal since 1, her mom might hear them and 2, she couldn't make her way to Robert because of the unwanted gift landslide.

She signed, "Seriously, why bring me all these gifts, Robert?" she asked miserably.

He perked up to her from reading his book, "There's no reason really, I wanted to bring you your new uniform and pens and such" he explained, his smile returning.

"Then why go through all the trouble of wrapping it up?" she asked further.

"Oh. I wanted to give you a hard time unwrapping each and every one of them" he answered simply

"Ah, I see"

3 seconds later, Robert has a face full of the largest and heaviest box she could find near her and she heard a cracking sound erupt from within it when it made contact with Robert's idiotic face.

He fell down with it and Alice could only guess the box probably contained a tea set or what was once one.

Somehow, she managed to dig through the files of boxes and find her bathroom where she unceremoniously dragged Robert into and started treating his bloody nose.

She wouldn't mind going to her mom downstairs to help her and not go through the trouble of digging through the stacks of wrapped goods, but she didn't want her mom to get worried over him or worst, totally freak out.

Blood + Her Mother = Disaster.

She placed a mini cool compress over the bridge of his nose as he laid his head on the counter while staring up at the white ceiling.

She was leaning against the counter next to him when he spoke, "That was an expensive tea set too" he muttered mournful.

"Then why bother buying one? We already have tea sets in the house" she argued, not quite getting fully annoyed with him due to his pitiful state. His nose wasn't bleeding anymore but he had a cut on his forehead and cheek which had band-aids over them already.

"But I wanted the sets to be 5 now but I guess I'll have to settle for only 4" he pouted, disappointed.

"Well it's not like you drink tea 5 times a day" she pointed out.

"6 actually but sometimes when I'm bored, I take 8 to 10. Speaking of which, I've only had 2 today, haven't I? I'll go get some more before we start fixing the presents, I'll be back" he explained, his mood suddenly back to being bright and chirpy; and before she knew it, he had dashed out of the bathroom and was speeding to the kitchen.

Ah yes, he also had the mad obsession for drinking tea. Come to think of it, she's never seen him have a regular glass of water. During meal times, he usually drinks carrot juice, which is not at all good really. It tasked like pulverized, of course, _carrot_.

Alice got out of the bathroom afterwards, already having cleaned out her bloody handkerchief which he pressed to his nose to avoid dripping blood all over the carpet, got the cottons balls and band-aid wrappers into the trash and was ready to tackle the problem that was unwrapping and storing presents.

She would've wanted to just donate or give some away but Robert would instantly block her way from the door and say she was giving away presents that he's bought and worked on specially for her. Though sometimes, she would offer some to her classmates and friends.

Also, she knew some of the items inside the presents were not very big for - from past experience - she knew he had the tendency to wrap small objects over and over again just to give her a hard time unwrapping it over and over and over, until she grows frustrated and hits and/or throws it at him.

And he would say he just wanted to see her reaction, but she knew Robert just loved to mess with her, just as much as she loved hitting him.

What a strange friendship. Other people would think they were enemies but no, they were the best of friends.

Alice started moving boxes around, moving some to the bathroom counter which was quite wide and long, placing some on top of shelves and her dresser, on her study chair and over and under the table, beneath her bed, and just parts of the room where they won't get in the way. She had finally managed to clear her bed of gifts when Robert returned; her bed was clear, the hall was clean but the only space in the room to walk in was the size of a 12-inch single floor board, not very comfortable to squeeze into.

Robert had managed though and sat idly beside her while sipping his tea.

"So, aren't you going to open them?" he asked, excitement in his fuchsia eyes.

"Sure. But why did you- ?"

"Enough with the questions Alice and just open them" he cut her off, quite impatient with her.

She sighed finally in defeat and carefully took a box at the top of a stack as high as her or maybe more.

It was wrapped in plain light pink wrapping and a light blue ribbon. It wasn't quite heavy so it was probably something small but multi-wrapped.

She pulled the ribbon, tore the paper and inside was another wrapped box, she tore that and inside was yet another box.

She knew it.

3 more tarings and openings later, she ended up with a box the size of a ring box. She opened it up for the final time and saw it was a rabbit-shaped eraser lying in satin and wool.

She knew it was small but not _that_ ridiculous.

She turned to him quite irked, "Are you truly serious, Robert? An eraser?" she stated, not quite controlling her anger.

"Hey! Do not mock the cute rabbit eraser" he warned, insulted.

Unbelievable...

He really is positively _hopeless._

She wonders how he even managed to get to college all on his own.

* * *

><p>5 hours...<p>

50 minutes...

and 250 gifts later.

Alice's room has become a paper rainbow catastrophe.

Wrapping paper, empty boxes and ribbons were everywhere, on the floor, her bed, and even over Robert who was sleeping soundly after falling asleep at around 9pm, it was already 11 now.

How she managed to unwrap all of them without exploding was a mystery to her since Robert had reached a new high in silliness. Who would get her a pair of socks in two separate boxes and _not_ get annoyed?

All in all, only half her bed was occupied by items that were in the 250 boxes he gave her while Robert was lying on the other side of the bed buried in crumpled wrapping paper and ribbons.

His gifts consisted mostly of items that required pairs like socks, shoes, earrings, and more, but at least he bothered to get her the Lutwidge Academy uniform and hopefully, it fit her.

She planned on trying it on but first was cleaning up this paper mache of a mess. She should really ask - force - him to help her since he was the reason there was so much but waking him up was like telling time to stop moving.

She got up and started collecting the scraps of paper into a plastic bag or 10 of them. After which she moved them outside to be picked up by the dump truck arriving at midnight that night.

After that was cleared, she put away all the stuff Robert gave to her including the 5 pairs of black shoes and sneakers. Honestly, who wears a different kind of pair each day? Oh right, probably rich kids who cared less about how it cost.

Finally it was time to sleep, which she found out is next to impossible now.

Robert had miraculously moved and was now lying flat on his stomach on her small, single person bed.

She tried pushing him off but he did not even flinch. He was one heavy guy, she better note to him that the tea was going straight to his thighs.

With no other choice, Alice went to her closet and got out a thick heavy bed sheet and placed it right on the floor next to the bed and laid down taking one of the carrot pillows he gave her. It wasn't as comfortable as a bed but it'll have to do for now.

She slowly closed her eyes and drifted off to slumber land.

* * *

><p><strong>NA: **Wow. Finally finished. Typing this down is not as easy as it looks. Also, if you would've noticed, I write really, REALLY long chapters. Sorry, this was intended to be a novel type kind of story so it'll be extremely long in chapter and in story. But **thank you** for bearing the long-ness. Hope to see you again soon! :3


	3. 2 o'clock

**A/N: **Hi there readers! It's Me again. Just here to drop by another chapter for you guys! Comments are welcome and I do NOT own the Alice books, the Kuni no Alice games and any other Alice related works except this one! HAPPY READINGS! :3

**2 o'clock**

_**'Ding'**_

Morning

Another bright sunny morning for the world to smile upon. The sky was blue, the birds were whistling and the sun was shining down to shed some light to the once dark city of London, England.

The streets were flooded with people, either driving or walking to work or just having a merry stroll through town or having a nice cup of coffee or tea in their homes or in shops.

And among these people was an 18 year old girl with a tousle of long blonde hair, baby blue eyes and clad in the uniform of a very prestigious school. She was running through the streets of London, the wind blowing her hair in complete disarray and her breathing heavy and labored. Her heart was pounding hard in her chest and her legs were starting to ache

This girl is named Alice Fageon and this girl was... late.

_I'm going to KILL you ROBERT!_

She swears, she's going to kick that sorry man's behind if she ever so sees a single hair of him at Lutwidge.

He could've made an effort and woke her up but no, he just high tailed it out of their house the minute he woke up, leaving her to wake up 30 minutes before the school bell rang.

_Oh that infuriating, no good- Argh!_

She's been running for at least 1/4 a kilometer now from the train station. Lutwidge was situated at the edge of London while they lived up north, so she had to go on a mad dash to get prepared and catch the train before running half a kilometer of streets to the school itself

She was thankful the student hand book he left had a map on where Lutwidge was but it was so _not_ enough to pay for him leaving her behind like that

Being late on the first day of school, how embarrassing. And she couldn't tell her teacher she slept in late or was caught in traffic, those were the oldest excuses in the book

Hopefully though, she/he was nice enough to let Alice off; but what if they weren't? That'll truly-

HONK!

And before she could even turn around, she saw head lights hurdling towards her.

* * *

><p>Alice knew she was still alive<p>

Or she wouldn't be staring at the yellowish lights of the car she thought was going to run he over.

But still, she feels like the world had stopped spinning and her ears were ringing like crazy. If it was because of the fear or shock that had made her fall to the ground, she would never know, but she knew she had fallen because no car was as tall as her

And also-

She was cut off when she was forced to look at a man with sea green eyes beside her, he was yelling something at her but she could not hear him because of the ringing.

Like she was underwater, falling into its silent depths.

Darkness

Alice opened her blue eyes an hour later and she first saw white

_Am I dead?_

She thought about it, "No, that would be silly" she told herself smiling faintly at the white painted ceiling above her

"What would be silly?" the voice surprised her, it seemed familiar

She inclined her head to the left and saw a man with even more familiar sea green eyes

It quickly came back to her and she gasped, quickly sitting up in the process

"You..." she breath out, unable to continue

He grinned, "Just for the record, I apologize for almost running you over and I hope you don't press charges" he explained calmly while raising his hands in front of him as if to defend himself but grinning still

She shook her head, "No. But where am I?" she asked looking around the light blue room that looked like a clinic.

"The School nurse's office, assuming you are a student from Lutwidge Academy" he said gesturing to her folded up dark blue jacket hung at the end of the bed, where the Lutwidge Academy patch shown on the left arm

She nodded, "Yes, and you must be as well?" he was wearing the same jacket after all.

He nodded then stretched his hand out, "The name's Seigfried" he introduced himself and she took his hand

"My name's Alice"

He paused for half a second but replied afterwards, "I see. Were you in a hurry when you were coming into school?" he asked

Alice's eyes grew wide, she completely forgot she was late.

She quickly got out of bed and wore her shoes then slid her jacket on. "I'm terribly sorry but I'm really late for class"

She glanced around and noticed a wall clock hung on the wall, 10 am. She's an hour late!

She picked up her bag on the side of the bed and fled the room hurriedly, but not without saying a _Sorry _and a_ Thank You _to Seigfried who merely smiled at her, looking quite amused

On her class schedule, it said that they were having homeroom in Room 314 in CF, Clover Field.

There are 2 structures in Lutwidge Academy that house two different kinds of educational systems, they are Hearts Field and Clover Field. Alice was currently enrolled in Clover Field so mostly all her classes are held in Clover Field building

So, first, she had to figure out hat building she as in

There was no sign or clue in the hall that told what building she was in and there was nobody around to ask except for the roving teachers in the halls, and this one particularly eyed her suspiciously probably thinking she was skipping

Of fright and nervousness, Alice merely walked on, quickening her pace as if she was in too much of a hurry to be interrupted, while the unbelievable reality was that she was in a hurry to go - at the moment - nowhere

When she lost the mean-looking woman, she started to look for some stairs hoping she could look at a sign in front of the building or a nice guard to ask about her location.

A few corridors later, she found them and was about to head down when the clock tower's bells outside started ringing making her jump in surprise and unbalancing her footing causing her to slip on the marble stairs

She was about to stumble forward when a hand suddenly grabbed her upper arm causing her to go into a complete halt on the steps

She steadied herself and turned her head to see... Seigfried

How did he know she was there? Did he follow her through the building?

He merely smiled at her as he kept his hand on her arm, "Alice. I knew it was you I saw" he said cheerfully, proud to have recognized her

Instead of smiling back at him, she asked a question, "W-What are you doing her, Seigfried? How did you find me?"

If she didn't know him, she wouldn't have been as shocked since his timing was too incredible and she knew she had gone in a straight line most of the way. Also, she didn't hear him coming, every tap of a shoe could be heard echoing in the corridor, bouncing off of the walls. And yet she did not hear him approach, it was like he came out of thin air to aid her

"I was merely walking to my class when I saw you about to go down the stairs. When the bells rang, I noticed you were about to fall so I rushed over to help you before you got hurt" he explained, letting go of her arm when he noticed she could stand on her own

"I see, but why did I not hear you?" she questioned on and unconsciously looked down to see white socks and no shoes on his feet

He laughed nervously and showed her he was carrying his black shoes in his left hand, the one he didn't use to save her. "I actually took it off as I came to my class, the shoes made too much noise and I didn't want to get caught for being late. But now I seem to be completely absent" he looked at the hall, where she hadn't come from and saw students exiting classes coming toward them while talking among themselves

Seigfried carefully put his shoes on and faced her once more still keeping a smile on his lips. "What will be your next class, Alice?" he asked out of the blue

Alice was previously basking on apologizing to him for causing him so much trouble but the question brought her back to her senses as she took out her class schedule from her white bag, the one she received yesterday.

She had to admit, for a really annoying and idiotic guy, Robert had good taste; except for the bunny costume, looking like something taken out of a playboy magazine.

She tried her hardest not to punch his sleeping face and reminded herself to burn it when she got the chance.

She scanned her schedule while climbing up the step to stand next to Seigfrid who peeked over her shoulder to her schedule in her hands.

"10:50. History. Room 514" she read aloud for him to hear over the outside noise of the students around them chattering.

"10:50?" he looked at his watch and smiled - not that he wasn't smiling before, but he did drop it for a moment when he repeated the time. "Good, we've got 20 minutes for me to get you a parfait" he chirped, happily.

"What? No, I'm fine. Really, I am" she insisted, honestly he's paid her enough from saving her from falling.

How embarrassing it would have been if students saw her lying on the bottom of the staircase like an unfocused idiot who couldn't even climb down stairs.

"Come on, its the least I could do after almost running you over. I've heard that the parfait in the school cafe was very delicious" he proclaimed encouraging her.

As much as it was tempting her, she still had to decline, "It's really okay, Seigfried. I'll just try it out later on" she made a move to add 'See you later' in her sentence when he interjected.

"Just this once, Alice. And I wanted to have a cup of coffee as well. I wouldn't want to drink it all by myself" he remarked still smiling with cheer.

Alice looked at him, intently. It wouldn't hurt, wouldn't it?

After a moment, she agreed and Seigfried's smile couldn't be any wider, it almost seemed to reach ear to ear but she knew she was mistake, it was regular smile.

* * *

><p>The cafe was beautiful. The outdoor cafe to be exact. It was located outside the President's building, as Seigfried had told her, inside a beautiful rose garden with fragrant white roses. And the tables and chairs were white as well along with the cups, except, of course, for the transparent parfait glass showing of its delicious-looking yummy contents inside.<p>

But aside from its beautiful look, she swears the first spoon of it was heaven, like sweet creaminess with a hint of strawberry and peach-mango. She could eat it all day; except she couldn't, when she saw the price tag on the beautiful dessert, she could just wish her piggy bank was twice or thrice its size now and contained more bills than dimes.

Though, nevertheless, she was going to enjoy this parfait even though every bite cost as much as her weekly allowance.

She was a sweets addict - and proud of it - who could blame her? Thats right, nobody!

Seigfried merely watched with glee and slight amusement as she finished the tall parfait he had brought her. Her spoon clattering inside it for the final time.

She was so going to save up to buy another.

"Did you like it, Alice?" he asked across from her folding his hands under his chin and placing his elbows on the table.

I loved it! "Yes, it was very good. Thanks a lot, Seigfried" she said smiling a very appreciatory smile at his direction.

"You're welcome. I would like to treat you here again, if you wouldn't mind?" he asked hopeful, but his smile still the same and cheery.

She nodded happily, feeling comfortable in his presence.

The wind blew lightly sending the fragrance of roses stirring in the air, it was so peaceful there and so calming. The word _skipping_ sounded like a silent invitation in her mind.

But no, it was her first day in Lutwidge Academy. She didin't want to have a bad reputation to her teachers and professors as an unresponsible absentee.

Alice looked at her wristwatch on her lap and read, 10:45. 5 minutes to class.

She looked back at Seigfried who seemed to be thoughtful, and she smiled ruefully.

"I'm really sorry, Seigfried. But I need to get to class. But thanks again for the meal" she told him while standing up from her seat taking her bag from the table.

He smiled still, "I'll walk you there then. My class' starting in a few minutes as well. We might as well go together" he remarked standing up after her and with nothing coming into mind to argue with him to stay, she nodded.

He rounded the table to stand beside her and they started walking towards the stone path that led out of the garden and into the main path towards the Clock Tower.

Just as they rounded the corner to head to Clock TOwer, she saw a man with reddish brown hair walking towards their direction and when he looked up he saw them immediately and smiled smugly.  
>The two parties came into a stop as they met each other half way.<p>

Alice did not like this man.

"Well, Well, Well. If it isn't my favotire Clover sudent" he said with mock pleasure, smiling easily but with pride and arrogance.

At that, Alice noticed he had said Clover student and noticed his uniform looked exactly like Seigfried's but it was themed in red with a heart pin on his collar, while Seigfried had a blue clover on his as well as Alice.

Then this man might be from Hearts Field. But what would a Hearts Field student want with Seigfried?

From hearing stories from Robert, Hearts Field and Clover Field students almost never get contact with each other and prefer to stay in their respective buildings though the President's Building and the Main Building are neautral places where the two fields have more contact although outside of it, the two become utter strangers to one another, like they didn't go to the same school as the other.

Robert had commented that Hearts Field students were too serious and boring while Clover Field students were abit more laid back and happy. That's why he chose Clover Field and thus, ending Alice in the same field as well.

Funny, they were in the same field and yet, she hasn't seen the guy all day.

Why was that again? Oh right, he _left_ her!

Seigfried smiled on still, "Hello there Stanley. Nice to see you again" he greeted with no hint of sarcasm like they weren't in bad tarms as Stanley was demonstrating.

She hoped they wouldn't start a fight here in front of the President's Building. She did not want to get in -_ even more_ - trouble on her first day of school.

"Well it isn't nice to see you" he complained, still, oh so, arrogant. "I thought you'd have booked the first plane out of here after freshman year. But I guess I hadn't done enough damage on your pretty boy face" he remarked, smirking at them.

Seigfried didn't even falter with his smile or expression while Alice wanted to either worry or swipe that smirk off of his godforsaken face herself.

Stanley's looks were such a waste on her opinion.

She guesses there are still some annoying, rich, spoiled brats in this world.

"I wouldn't want to use the money my parents had spent to send me here go to nothing. So, here I am" he answered, smoothly, not at all threatened.

It would've served to annoy Stanley - _the brat_ - even more but instead he smirked still, a repulsive glint in his eyes. "That's trange coming from you, pretty boy. Ususally you'd have insulted me with vulgar words with that pretty smile of yours etced on your face like last year. But it seems you've turned a new leaf or is it because of that pretty little gilr standing next to you? Wouldn't want to burst your good reputation bubble with her, huh?" he smiled in victory, knowing he'd hit a nerve in Seigfried.

And he did, but Alice would never know that.

Just as they were expecting a retort from him, the bells rang, meaning it was time for class and the end of others.

And Alice was going to be late... _again._

Good thing, Seigfried knew this as well, and he waited for the ringing to end before speaking.

"Now will you look at the time. I'd love to stay and chat, Stanley but I need to escort my friend here to her class. Now if you'll excuse us" he announced before taking Alice by the wrist and leading her past Stanley and towards the Clock Tower.

Stanley said nothing for a while and merely looked at them leave until she heard him tell after them, "You've gotten soft, pretty boy" and that was that. She heard nothing more and Segfried didn't look back to acknowledge that he even heard it but she did.

And honestly, she couldn't picture the smiling Seigfried to act in at least a fourth of how Stanley had portrayed himself in her eyes. It seemed so impossible, like comparing night with day.

They slowed when they rounded the Clock tower, heading to the path right of it and they immediately saw the blue themed world that was Clover Field, some stuednts were hurrying to its direction, knowing fully well they were late, unlike she and Seigfried who took their time.

Alice wanted to ask him about what his relatonship was with Stanley. No, that would be wrong. She already knew they were enemies. But why?

She didn't want to plunge them into Q&A in a topic that might be sensitive, it would be uncomfortable for both of them; but wondering never left her being, until he broke the long silence that had formed between them.

"Do not worry, Alice. He wouldn't bother you, I'm sure of it. And I know he'd rather have a spat with his old enemy. It's a long story" he explained, thinking she was worrying about Stanley even though she really wasn't.

And when he said _long story_, she hoped he would tell her another time.

When they reached the door with the wooden sign above it saying 514, she was nervous and scared.

What if this was high school all over again with the teacher asking her to step out and stand outside in the corridor with a book over her head and if it fell, her time was extended.

There goes her silly thoughts again, it was college, professors didn't need to do that, right?

She needed a miracle.

"Well, this' it, Alice. I'll see you around" Seigfried smiled warmly at her.

"Yah, See you. And thanks again" She thanked him and he nodded at her, smiling one final time and walking away.

Alice waited till he had disappeared down the hall before she faced the door to he room.

History.

She hoped she was nervous enough not to fall asleep. It wasn't her strongest subject, really.

She gulped and grabbed the door knob.

There was a window beside the door but it was tinted until she could only see white, so she couldn't be sure if they had already started and if she was entering in the middle of the lecture.

Hopefully, - That's right, she can only hope!

_Stop it_!

She sighed, time to face the music.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** DONE! Sorry this took so long. Busy with school and stuff. Thanks for reading! R&R :3


	4. 3 o'clock

**A/N: **Hey there! Sorry it took so long but here it is. Enjoy :3

**3 o'clock**

_**Ding!**_

The door was a plain dark wooden one, polished to absolute perfection, she could almost see herself reflecting her image back at her like a tall mirror.

The door knob was brass and shaped like a clover and much like the door - polished and smooth like placing one's hand on a glassy surface.

She did not know what lay before her behind that magnificent door and the thought made her both nervous and slightly excited, the same excitement she lost when she ran half her heart out to Lutwidge Academy only to get almost run over by Seigfried, her, ironically, new friend; her first friend actually, and they weren't even classmates.

Alice sighed getting her head back, getting tired of standing there like a ninny.

Here goes.

She was about to turn the knob, when it suddenly turned by itself in her hand making her take her hand away with a jump as the door swung inward revealing a man with adorable cerulean eyes and a fuzzle of wood brown hair on top of his head.

And currently those cerulean eyes met baby blue eyes, bpth equally surprised as the other.

After a moment of blue eyes staring back at each other, Alice snapped back to her senses when the cute-looking man suddenly smiled, but not the smile that Seigfried often shows, it was much more warmer and more loving, almost sleepy.

Unable to resist, she smiled back at him but it suddenly turned to shock when he took her by the hand and pulled her inside letting the door close by itself behind them sealing her into the room.

The man pulled her through the small path behind the aisles of chairs, over-looking the entire room.

The rooom itself was auditorium-like, the aisle of tables were in a slope towards the center stage below where a long white board stretched out on the wall and a teacher's rectagular wooden desk stood with all kinds of books and artifacts on it, e.g. a globe.

The rows of long interconnected tables were filled with students chattering away since the teacher was not yet present.

Besides the room change, everything else was just like high school, only high school was more... loud.

Alice looked in awe at the room for a moment as they ran to the end of the path, though she snapped out of it when she remembered she was being pulled by an unknown stranger with increadibly cute eyes.

They suddenly turned when they reached the end of the path and went down a flight of stairs, stopping when they reached the row 3 places from the last.

They were suddenly face to face with 2 more unknown students. One had black hair while the other had light brown. The black haired one sat on one of the chairs, his eyes mildly surprised, then the other sat on the table beside the man, his eyes surprised and questioning.

Before any of them could speak, the man that was with her spoke, "I've found Veronica, you two" he chirped merrily to them.

The two of them switched their gazes to Alice then back to the smiling boy.

The black haired man sighed, disapproving placing his delicately closed fist to his chin and closing his eyes. "You're mistaken, Matthew" he breath out, disappointed.

"That girl's obviously not Veronica. Veronica doesn't have long hair, you know" the light brown haired man scolded him crossing his arms over his chest.

Matthew looked at them thoughtfully, losing his smile than turned to Alice beside him, scrutinizing her appearance making her a bit uncomfortable. This followed with him lookinng in deep thought then turning back to her with a _Eureka_ smile on his face.

"Oh yah. You're not Veronica at all" he pointed out as if stating the most obvious fact in the world. Though he suddenyl frowned, "Then who are you then?" he asked curiously as if trying to solve an unsolvable riddle.

She was bout to answer when the black haired man suddenly spoke, "I apologize for out friend's misbehaviour, miss. He'd accidentally taken you for someone else" he spoke apologetic but frustrated.

"It's quite alright, sir. Although if I'm not imposing, who is this Veronica?" she asked wondering.

"She's my maid whose suppose to bring us tea but it has almost been 20 minutes and she has still not appeared" the light brown haired one explained turning on the desk and setting his feet on the other side before circling the table to lean against it in front of her

"And since I'm not doing anything, I was told to find her" Matthew chirped in, excitedly.

"She must've gotten lost then. Does she know what room you are in?" she asked, hoping to aid them in fifnding Veronica.

"No" was teh light haired man's quick and short reply.

Alice paused for a moment in surprise but she hastily recovered, "Then how could she know where to deliver the tea?" she retorted, confused.

"She always manages to find us" he commented nonchalantly and she could not believe what she was hearing.

He lets his maid run around the entireity of the school without knowing where to go to deliver soemthing for him? He's just like that infuriating Robert!

"Well sir, I'm not very surprised your tea is a little late" she remarked feeling quite tired and wanting to move on, "Why not tell her waht room you are currently in to make the delivery much faster?" she suggested patiently

He seemed to think of it as an order, "And who are you, miss, to order me around?" he challenged, irritably

She shook her head, "Noone. I am just a mere person who is concernd with others. Please excuse me" she pardoned herself, sauntering up th stairs to find a seat before class started

"Wait just one moment, miss" the voice of the black haired one called her attention

She stopped in her tracks and turned to see him standing between her and the brown haired man. "Yes?"

What would they want with her now?

"Would you like to join us for a cup of tea?" he offered, smiling calmly

Alice was back to being confused

"But as he's said, Veronica has yet to arrive with your tea" she said glancing at the light brown haired man behind him who turned away grumbling when he met her gaze

he was tking it too much to heart

"I've grown quite tired of waiting and improvisation seems to be required as of this moment, no?" he explained easily

"What do you propose, sir?" she asked, not that she wanted to go but she wonders what his improvisation will be on this matter

Alice felt quite strange sitting there in the middle of nowhere in what seems to be a... tea party?

She sat on one of the many chairs surrounding the long table covered with a pinkish table cloth but only a small part of it had a numerous number of tea pots over it along with only 4 tea cups, hers and the others 3 with her

She was placed right at the very edge of the table while on either side of her was Matthew and the black haired man and the one with brown hair sitting beside the black

Alice glanced back down at her cup wondering how they had managed to set up this entire event so quickly, Matthew had only dragged her here excitedly as the other two had gone ahead of them after the black haired man called someone on his phone.

But she also wonders why they would set up a tea party in the middle of the forest of all places

The black haired man took his first sip of tea quietly then popped open his eyes as if remembering something, "Ah yes, we haven't introduced ourselves, haven't we?" he mentioned turning to Alice. "I am Hunter Madison" he said casually , his emerald eyes looking at hers and his seemingly black hair giving it more emphasis. _Seemingly_ due to the fact that it was actually a really dark red when closely observed

"And he would be..." though mentioned person cut him off

"March. Just March" he said absently, not even drinking his tea but only spinning his index finger round and round on the cup's rim

Hunter nodded letting teh interjection pass, then turned to Matthew across him

"And you must already know Matthew" he went as they both gazed at Matthew's head on the table, his now empty cup in front of his face along with his hand beside it

He had merely drank down his cup for 5 seconds flat then was out cold the next second and before she got worried, they explained to her it was normal of him to fall asleep during tea time

She nodded and he continued speaking, "So what is your name, miss?" he asked lifting his cup to his lips and tilting it slowly to deposit the contents into his mouth

"Alice. Alice Fageon" she answered and Hunter suddenly stopped mid-sip while March looked at her, curiously. Matthew remained asleep

There was a second of silence, when Hunter suddenly took his lips from the cup and commented, "Such a nice name" before drinking his tea successfully

"Thank you" she said smiing at him warmly for the complement, though she did not fail to notice their odd second, she let it pass for now

He merely smiled without turning to her

Alice took another sip of her tea enjoying its creamy taste and texture as silence over took the table but she did not mind, she was enjoying the sound of the leaves rustling and the birds chirping around them; until a thought came to mind

Class

She'd forgotten that they just dragged her here, or Matthew mostly did, without even giving a thought that the teacher might arrive at any moment

Oh dear, she was going to be tardy and at the first class se will be attending for teh day. Her true first class ended with her being absent so, she had to make for it now

She turned to Hunter wondering, "Hunter, are you three not going to attend class?" she asked him

He put down his tea cup, "It seems not, but it's quite alright. Missing the first day is not te eend of the world" he commented lightly as if they were talking about the weather

Alice did not feel very assured

"Though what if they had done something important in class?" she questioned on

"It is the first day, Alice. Do not be so frightened" he smiled at her, finding this so amusing

She had the undoubted urge to punch him

In that moment, she knew these three were people who did not take life too seriously, since the other two did not seem to care along with Hunter who seems to be their leader

WIth that, Alice abruptly stood up making the other two at the table look up at her. "Please excuse me. But I think I'll take my chances with class" she announced to the two then headed out to the woods

It seems being late is the order of her day today

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **R&R please. 3 reviews would be nice too :3


	5. 4 o'clock

**A/N: **Sorry this took really, really, absurdly long but here it is. Broadband's been messing with me again. But still hope you enjoy this folks! :3

* * *

><p><strong>* 4 o'clock *<strong>

_**Ding!**_

Being lost has reached a new level with her

She looked left, she saw trees. She looked forward, still trees were to be seen. And she looked behind her, well, what-do-you-know _TREES_

If those tall, woody-skinned, green haired paper ingredients didn't help clean the air or were school property, she would've already burnt them down in frustration

Who that somebody forest inside an already populated school? If she was still _in_ school that is.

There was just no end to them, she's been running for half an hour now or less - she forgot her watch this morning and the trees were too high and thick to see where the clock tower was

Argh! Those three stuggesh could have told her where the right way was and yet all they said was 'you might get lost'

No kidding sherlock!

She was so hitting each of their tea drinking heads one by one; no matter how cute Matthew was

Alice angrily kicked a peeble at her feet and it hit the base of a tree with a thunk

She sighed, thinking she won't get anywhere kicking peebles at trees and staring at the vast and endless stretch of trees that were infront of her

There had to be some way she could get out of there

She could go back and retrace her steps and ask the three where to go to get out but she was not about to swallow her pride and look like some pitiful lost little girl

No way!

So what?

Alice closed her eyes and tried to think

After a moment, the weight of hopelessnes made her feel dread and lonely

Though the birds above the forest canopy distracted her from it from a moment and also, gave her a brilliant idea

When she and Seigfried had walked to her classromm, she was late for 20 minutes...

When she talked to Matthew, Hunter and March that was roughly another 20 minute...

They had went to the table in 10 minutes including some minor delays with Matthew and March...

They had tea for 10 minutes...

And she's been running for 30 minutes.

If her calculations are correct, it'll be exactly 12 in...

Alice was cut off when she heard the loud ring of the clock tower bells from afar, coming from her right, signalling the end of class and the lunch for some students like herself

She almost cheered with joy. She's found it, she's found where to go! Although she missed class entirely, she would bother with that when she gets back

She started running with all her might towards the direction she heard the bells even though they had already stopped

It seems running, being late and absent are her agendas for the day

In 20 minutes of running, she started to see the light from the trees were starting to become brighter and she could hear people walking on stone pavement

Akice was so overjoyed and sped up her already fast pace even though her legs were aching

She was free, she was finally free

She was headed to the last break of the trees and could see the base of the clock tower. She was only 5 paces away when something came crashing onto her side, sending her to the forest floor

The world in her view wnet titlting to the side, then came pain coursing to her head then arm as she blacked out

When Alice woke up, she was utterly dizzy but the wind's cool caress aided her a bit, helping her straigthen her spinning mind

She slowly opened her eyes but something wet hit her on her forehead aboe the eye making her shut her eyes again

It was a wet cloth, but who was doing it?

"Hold still please" a male voice went in front of her as the cloth dabbed itself on her skin and she noticed when it touched her flesh there came a stinging pain. "You hit your head when you fell to the ground after I ran into you" he continued absently as if answering an unspoken question

When the cloth went away, she felt him place something over the pained area and she opened her eys when he said "Done"

She confirmed that she was in front of a man when she opened her eyes, he golden brown eyes and dusty brown hair and he looked... blank?

His expression was empty, almost bored

"Forgive me for running into you. I hadn't expected there was someone else in the forest" he said, his tone apologetic but his face still blank

She nodded to this and he looked towards the ground with interest

Alice followed his gaze and almost shrieked, grabbing onto the closest thing possible for balance, his arm

They were up on a tree that was a good 20 feet high, and the drop didn't look any prettier

How the heck did they get up there?

"A-A-Ahm...? Can we please get down?" she pleaded letting her pride drop like a rock

She admits she doesn't back down from anything and faces people and things head on and loves riding in roller coasters, but this was just ridiculous. They were sitting on a single branch and one false move or slip, you were dead, who wouldn't be scared stiff?

Obviously this guy

He seemed to ignore her plead and hold on his arm and kept looking at the ground below, "Can't. I'll have to wait 'till they stop searching for me" he explained dully

She wondered who _they_ were but it was quickly stored away due to her current situation on being on top of a high tree without any idea how to get down

"Can't you let me down instead?" she suggested, trying to not shake like a leaf

"No. They'll hear us" he remarked

"Then how long do we need to be up here?" she aked desperate

"A while. Until they go away and search somewhere else" he turned his head to the distance, probably telling that _they_ were there

"Can't you find another hiding spot?" she argued further, still trying to make him change his mind

"Troublesome. And where exactly?" he challenged looking at her fear stricken face

"I don't know but anywhere but here" she admitted

"Why?" he questioned, his face changing expression for the first time

Alice tried her hardest not to yell, "Well duh! We're on top of a tree with at least a 20 foot drop below us. Aren't you scared?" she bursted out but her voice was normal in volume

He shook his head, no.

She was slightly surprised at this, "Is climbing high trees normal to you?" she asked, dumbfounded

"Yes. You get used to it" he shrugged lightly, then returned to looking at the ground

She was even more surprised, quite forgetting her fear of the height for a moment, the urge to question taking over. "Who are _they_ anyway?" she asked for starters

"Hearts Field students. They're under the Hearts Field student body president's rule" he said and she noticed for the first time her was wearing a red Lutwidge Academy uniform designated for Hearts Field students

"And why are they looking for you?" she questioned onward

"Various reasons. But mostly because I'm one of the faithful followers of her orders but I grew bored and ran away before they found me" he explained

"What do they order you to do?" the last time she checked, Lutwidge Academy was a school, not some organization that gave orders to followers

But then again, she didn't know much about Hearts Field or its workings

Heck, she barely knows Clover Field as well

"Stuff. None very important" he replied vaguely

Alice was about to ask again when he suddenly placed a hand over her mouth then removed it to place finger over his, signaling that she should shush

The atmosphere grew quiet as he continued to glance at the forest floor and she did the same anticipating someone to appear

A few minutes later they heard the crunching of leaves against the ground

_Crunch. Crunch. Crunch_

Then stood a Hearts Field student under their tree looking around the area but not up

She held her breath, hoping they wouldn't get caught there

After a while, he moved on, suspecting nothing. The steady crunching of leaves beneath his feet moving away gave her comfort, and they only spoke 5 minutes after the crunching sounds were gone

"Good. They didn't hear us at all even though we were talking" he commented absent-mindedly

She nodded just relieved it was over

Now back to the matter at hand

"Can we get down now" she requested pointing to the floor below

His eyebrows quirked up - yet another change in expression, "Oh..." was his smart remark

When they finally got down, and eas headed back to the clock tower, she thinks, she continued talking and asking him questions

"So why did you stop following orders again?" she asked quite forgetting his earlier answers as they sauntered through the forest

"Boredom. And you could say, also lost interest" he answered sounding pretty bored now

"How many orders do you get anyway?"

"A lot. But the bottom line is that I got tired of following them, so that's how I end up hiding from them most of the time" he explained, his voice hinted with complaining but not obvious

"How long have you stopped following them?"

"Half a year. It'll be one year by the end of the semester"

"Don't you get punished?" her voice was tinged with worry

"No. They can't hurt me since it's against school rules, the most they can do is force me to follow..."

"... though they have to catch you first" she said, continueing his sentence with what she thought he would say

He looked at her, nonchalantly, "You could say that" was his final remark before silence over took

Although they were already out of the forest by then and instead of the clock tower, they were in the outdoor cafe in front of the President's Building

"Why did you bring us here?" she asked as they walked towards a table with two people already sitting on it

The cafe was fairly crowded since it was lunch time

"No reason. I was hungry" he replied as they got nearer to the table for four

One of them had their back to the two while the other was facing them so when he looked up and saw them coming, he looked slightly surprised

The other noticed this and looked back as well and that was when Alice noticed that the two men looked exactly alike

Twins

No words were spoken as the man with her just sat down beside one of them on the empty seat

Until one of the twins broke teh silence, "Aren't you going to sit down, miss?" he gestured to the seat beside his after noticing she wasn't making a move to sit

"Thank you" she muttered as she noticed a cup of coffee and a half eaten pastry was in front of each of them

"So waht brings you here, Alistair?" the twin beside her asked across the table

"Lunch. Running from her minions is tiring" he commented glancing at teh menu in his hands after one of the waiters gave it to him

"Obviously, she doesn't take a hint" the other twin beside him said

"Or she doesn't know when to quit" Alistair added then glanced at Alice across the table. "Want anything?" he asked

She was a bit surprised at the question but shook her head, "No, I'm fine"

"Good" then he called the waiter back and ordered two of everything he wanted meaning she was eating anyway

She's being treated to food a lot today

"I think she's not the only one that can't take a hint" the one beside her teased him and she knew it wasn't her that was in his sentence

"Pardon?" he asked without a hint of interest but question

"Oh nothing" they both chorused in answer

Alice found this rather adorable, she hasn't seen that many twins in her life and seeing these two beside her is like looking at a mirror right in front of one of them, though mirrors usually copied what you do and not just complete your sentences

"Oh and by the way, whose your friend here, Alistair?" the one beside her questioned looking at her directly

"Oh? I haven't really asked actually" he confessed but he looked at her with interest now

"What's your name, miss?" the other twin went, putting his palms on his chin and his elbows on the table, his sapphire eyes curious

"Oh. Ahm. My name's Alice" she intoduced herself smiling in the end

There it was again, the pause. What is wrong with her name? Is it strange? Creepy? Amusing?

Why does everyone seem to be so shocked when they hear it?

The twins looked at each other across the table as if thinking of a way to end the silence

"And my name's Demetry" the twin beside her suddenly said

"And my name's Dennis" the other went smiling at her happily

"Try not to forget our names" they noted at the same time

Alice nodded and tried her best to get over it, wanting to think of it later

When the food arrived, the 3 men in the table continued chatting while Alice pitched in sometimes, getting over teh incident rather quickly

"Honestly, I can't believe I'd lose at such a level. Some say level 58 isn't so difficult..." Demetry explained half complaining

"... And they say the final battle at the end of the level isn't so hard to be" Dennis continued for him

This has been going on throughout the conversation. Demetry starts and Dennis ends and vice versa. Although, one would think that one point that you are the same person moving so fast, you couldn't see the moving at all...

Yes. Alice blames the tea, it was making her think crazy things again. That was her fifth cup, she thinks, and she had more before with Hunter and the others

"I know of that level. It is quite easy but the quest needed to continue on to the final battle are quite difficult especially quest 15" Alistair explained also having fifth cup. Every time he bought something, he bought one for her as well

"Definitely, that old lady's a pain..." went Demetry

"... And her requests are utterly ridiculous" and that was Dennis

"But they are doable. What item are you two stuck on anyway?" Alistair asked

"Three" the two said at the same time

"Three? The jar?"

They nodded

Then Alistair started to explain things that Alice had no interest in, video games weren't her strongest subject and Robert usually only plays rabbit related ones, as expected

Alice began to look around the outdoor cafe, at the tables occupied by students in Lutwidge Academy uniform, either blue or red; though no two colors sat at one table except of course, theirs

Alistair is from Hearts Field in red while she, Demetry and Dennis are from Clover Field in blue. Two Fields in two totally different worlds in one single school ground

By the way, how did Alistair adn the twins know each other? Were they classmates or neighbours in the past? They seemed to know each other for quite a very long time

Then why are they in different Fields then? Demetry and Dennis don't seem to be in middle class. and Alistair doesn't look too serious about school.

"What's on your mind, Alice?" Dennis' voice cut into her mind and she realized they were all looking at her now, their conversation seeming to be over, their attention on her

"Me? I was just wondering how you three came to know each other so well, being from different Fields" she explained to them, trying not to sound too awkward or uncomfortable of the sudden attention

"Not much really. We were childhood friends and ended up going to the same high school and then here in Lutwidge" Alistair answered matter-of-factly

"Although we're a year younger than him..." Demetry started

"... we still hung out after school and stuff" Dennis ended

"I see, then why did you guys choose different Fields?" she questioned further

"Parents. they wanted me to go to Hearts Field last year, so here I am as a sophomore" the golden brown eyed man across her said and she couldn't help but feel sorry for him

"And we entered Clover Field as freshmen..."

"... becausen Hearts Field was too strict"

Yup, you guessed it. Demetry, then Dennis

"You're new here as well. Right, Alice?" Alistair went and she nodded

"Then what's your next class after this?" Demetry asked

Alice though for a moment, "Chemistry, I think" she muttered unsure

They smiled, "Really? We have the same class then" Dennis stated almost cheering in tone

"But I'm not even sure what room yet" she defended

"It matters" they chorused, getting off their chairs and looking up at the clock tower

1:20

"Let's go Alice" they took her by each arm and took her away with boyish grins on their faces as they said 'See you' to Alistair who didn't seem fazed they were leaving so soon

She couldn't help but laugh at their enthusiasm

Demetry and Dennis were now glaring. Glaring at a certain man beside Alice

They had made it to Chemistry, the first class she attended for the day and the professor said to have a lab partner, meaning 2 which Demetry and Dennis frowned upon

They requested to have a 3 man - and girl - team but teh professor said 'No' until this man beside her raised his hand saying he had no lab partner ending with Alice being his since she didn't want them to end up fighting each other to become their partner

Though she did feel a little guilty for dragging this man into the twins' wrath

"I apologize on behalf of my friends" Alice whispered to him as he listened to the professor explaining something about chemical compounds

"It doesn't matter, although I could tell - even if I cannot see them - that those two are glaring right at my head from behind us" he stated as if saying an observation

She sneeked a small glance behind her and yes, they were glaring while listening to the professor, and having her lean closer to him to keep their voices down made them more angrier

"Sorry" she said quietly and guilt weighing down on her shoulders

"You should not droop your shoulders like that, they would think I had upset you" he remarked suddenly, making her tense her shoulders but she relaxed them to show them she was at ease

The lecture continued and it was only after that she realized that he had said statements so accurately, it was bizarre. Was he psychic? Can he read minds?

"I am merely stating facts" he said under his breath as he scanned his book and she thought of this while looking at the board

The comment however made her whip her face to him so quickly it made her dizzy but she straightened herself out immediately

She was lucky the professor was looking somewhere else

"And by the way..." he said then turned to her, his deep blue eyes gazing at her casually, "... Phillip, Phillip Carter" he intoduced himself, stretching out his hand to her

She took it, "Alice, Alice Fageon" she said shaking his hand

Here it comes...

He nodded while saying, "I see" without missing a second before returning back to the board

... Nothing

No pause

Nothing

...

Yehey!

Her name is not weird after all!

Then what does that mean?

Her friends are.

*sigh*

She grins to herself

Class continued without anymore conversation and Phillip merely waved and said 'Good bye' to her before they all left, Demetr and Dennis dragging her as far away from him as possible

Alice had a feeling she'll be with the two for a very long while

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Sorry for any typos. But I'll fix that... someday. :) Anyway, thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your stay here! Ja'ne :3


	6. 5 o'clock

**A/N: **Hello again. It's been a while but here's the next chapter. Thank you all so much for reviewing. You guys are Awesome! :)

So, seat back, relax, and enjoy the Fifth Hour! _Ding!_ :3

* * *

><p><strong>* 5 o'clock *<strong>

_**Ding!**_

... Or maybe not

How Alice had got there, she could not fully understand but right in front of her were roses. Red roses

Hearts Field

Alice was back to running, desperate to find a way to get out of there, her red skirt swaying as she ran

She doesn't know what came over those two, playing hide and seek in Hearts Field wearing the Hearts Field uniform was absolutely absurd! And yet, they had managed to convince her, sneek her in, change then disappear, leaving her in the unknown territory that is Hearts Field

Somehow the wine red walls and the blood red carpeted flooring were making her uneasy, the color of red roses all around her gave way for undescribable fear to bubble inisde her

Although she was thankful for the carpet, noone can hear her foot falls on the floor, and she wouldn't want to take off her shoes since she might accidentally slip wearing only her socks if it wasn't carpeted like in Clover Field

For the first flight of her journey, Alice's been thinking of nothing but getting out and hitting the twins but by the 20 minute mark, escape was the only thing set into her mind, and she was planning to get it whatever happens

Good thing teh Hearts Field students were mostly industrious and concentrate on their work, so there were no students wandering around

She looked outside the hall windows glancing at the clock, 4:20. 10 minutes before students were to be dismissed from classes

She'd missed her Economics class for this game or _was suppose to be a_ game and now she just wants to go to her next class and go home at 6 like everyone else

After a moment, she stopped running, feeling fatigue run amock in her system. She proceeded on but in a slower pace or, in other words, she walked while at the same time thinking of a way to get out of there

Running around cirlces is getting her nowhere fast. A map would've been useful but student handbooks only had the overall look of Lutwidge Academy, plus she wasn't even a Hearts student, plus she didn't even have her bag - the twins had taken it from her when they pushed her into the ladies' room saying they were not about to go into a girls' bathroom

Not that anybody would see them. The halls were utterly deserted and if it wasn't for the knowledge taht classes were going on, she could've convinced herself she was totally alone in that place

But now she wished she was...

The bells from the Clock Tower suddenly rang making her jump on the spot. 4:30? Already? She hadn't anticipated the time

And now...

Alice slowly turned around frightened to death by the fact that she was now going to get caught for dressing up as a student of Hearts Field and on class hours as well

She was silently praying they don't expel her

Soon, the ringing of the bells ended and the hall was returned back to its silence as before and yet...

Nothing

Noone

Noone had come out of any of the classrooms that lined the hall she was in, not even a single soul had come out

She looked at the door acrooss her for a long moment, wondering why wasn't anyone coming out. Did they not hear the bell? Did they go over the time limit all the time? Were they so busy they did not notice it?

These questions swirled in Alice's head until she ended up crossing the hall and grabbing the heart shaped brass door knob

She turned it and entered. Noone. Nobody was inside the classromm. She stood there and stared for another long moment

Was it their lunch time? But she knows no prestigious school such as Lutwidge will let their students have lunch at 3 in the afternoon

Alice finally closed the door but still felt teh undying confusion on where the people of Heart Field could've gone

"Hello, miss. Is there a problem here?" a male voice went coming from her right

She instantly froze

Here it was, the inevitability. She was caught

But wait, maybe she can salvage herself from this situation

She slowly turned to his direction and saw a man in Lutwidge Academy Security Guard uniform with a Hearts Field pin on his collar

"N-No. There's no problem at all, sir" Alice tried to act as normal as possible hoping he would believe that she truly was a student of Hearts Field and not someone sneeking in

Her brain did work better in desperate times

"I see. Then you'd better got along to the auditorium, it's the Welcome Assembly for the students. Were you not informed?" the man asked

"No. I mean, yes. I was. I'm just having trouble finding the auditorium, you see" she explained lying her tongue out

He nodded, "Well then. You'd best come with me. I'll take you there so you wouldn't get lost" he said gesturing to the hall they were going to be walking to

"Yes, of course. Thank you, sir" the words were out of her mouth before she thought it through and she suddenly felt so stupid

Okay, so her brain didn't work better in desperate times

* * *

><p>The walk wasn't very long but they did go up a flight of stairs and Alice passed the steps going down with a sigh. She'd have to remember where these were afterwards<p>

When they arrived, the guard made sure she got inside before leaving and inside another guard was posted in to prevent anyone from going out including her

The lights were dim on the back of the audience so she was unnoticed when she sat on the last row on the aisle seat, while everyone was occupied with listening to the Hearts Field President speech on the podium on the brightly lit stage

Alice couldn't concentrate on what the grey haired man was saying due to nervousness. She didn't belong here after all and the thought of it scared her, she was an outsider in this sea of students

But, nonetheless, all she'd have to do is live thorugh this and get out before somebody notices her

When theman finished speaking, everyone started clapping so Alice joined in as well, to seem less suspicious

"Thank you for that wonderful speech, sir Isaac. And now-" she was surprised, she knew that voice anywhere. Alice looked up and recognized the announcer immediately

Robert

"-let us welcome Hearts Field Student Body President, Ms. Vivianne Hart"

Then the audience started clapping but it was drowned out by Alice's sheer anger on that white haired on stage, sporting a black suit and red tie which she wanted to seriously shred along with his skin and hear his plees

So that's where you've been you pesky rabbit! You'll pay for what you did! Your face will never see the light of day!

But Alice merely screamed this in her mind, smiling at imagining the horrible things she'll do to him

"Good morning, everyone. I, Vivianne Hart, whole-heartedly welcome all of you to the Hearts Field course of Lutwidge Academy" the feminine voice coming from the speakers surprised her and made her turn to the woman standing on the podium wearing the offical Hearts Field uniform

In a word, Alice could describe her as beautiful. Even from her view point from the back rom, the woman's bouncy strawberry blonde hair was a sight for every for envy and her entire being shined on stage. She looked like a sophisticated cinderella come to life

If Alice had anyone to be jealous of now, it'd be Vivianne

Although... Alistair had said he worked for the Hearts Field Student President, whose giving him orders he doesn't want to do

What could Vivianne possibly order to him? Is it also possible for teh Hearts Field President to be responsible for it as well?

Alice glanced at the old man in a dark brown suit, sitting comfortably while listening to Vivianne's speech. He looked kind and wise but she can't judge only in appearance, and even Vivianne should be along that line as well. She didn't look like a bad person, maybe strict and serious but definitely not up to something no good

What if Alistair was lying? Would he? He was definitely being chased but...?

How can she be sure?

When Vivianne finally ended her speech everyone clapped and the assembly went on

Afterwards, Alice exited Hearts Field auditorium, not botherinf to go after Robert anymore

Some friend he was, forcing her to enroll in a school with him - and he owns - but in a different field as him! What a joke!

If this' his way of shutting her off then fine by her, there were limits to determination and patience, you know and she was well out of it

Consider this friendship over!

She was so absorbed with cursing her annoying ex-best friend that she did not notice the man walking straight to her which ended with them bumping into each other

She had to step back twice so as not to fall or lose her footing and she muttered a "I'm so sorry about that", while glancing up at him

The bronze haired man smiled meekly at her, "It's quite alright, I wasn't looking where I was going so I'm at fault as well" he explained politely but the hint of guilt was evident in his tone. He lifted up his left hand carrying a book to illustrate the fact that he was reading while walking."I do apologize" he added sincerely

"No it's fine. I'll just watch where I'm going next time" she noted, mostly to herself

He nodded, then his face turned questioning, "Although... Are you a late comer by any chance?" he asked curiously

"Pardon?"

"It's just that, I didn't see anyone come to Hearts Field looking as yourself" he remarked. Alice froze and when she did not reply, he continued as if stating a simple observation to a science experiment, "Although I did see someone that resembles you head to the President's Building with a young man. Tell me, do you have a twin sister that goes to Clover Field, miss?" he asked, wondering as if she needed to write it in big letters in front of him that he was looking at the same girl

But Alice could not think further on what he was saying for she was stuck in a very suffocating, hard place, realizing the situation that had just formed before her in a snap

Does this count as being caught?

Yes, yes it does

The man - that she now suddenly hated - was about to speak to her again when another man came running towards them clad in the Hearts Field uniform; as was them and everyone else around them except... they all belonged there

_She_ - on the other hand - was a dead man

"Sir Hart. President Hart wants me to escort you to her office. Your presence is wanted immediately" the dark blonde haired man said to the man that had caught her

Sir Hart?

"Yes, let us go then" he proclaimed then turned to her again with a gentle smile on his lips, "And I would like to bring this young lady with us as well" he added. A smile that didn't make it obvious that she was in deep trouble

And to her luck they were going to the Presdient, weren't they? President... Hart?

The dark blonde nodded and led them back to Hearts Field's doors

Hart?

They were related?

They were... siblings?

So that's why! She thought she'd seen those green eyes before, althoughh the President's eyes were lighter in color and his darker, they were undoutedly the same

It seems she keeps bumping into people today, and she knows that she has found the worst person to have an unexpected encounter with

Not to self: Seriously. Watch. Where. You're. Going!

The blonde had led them to the top floor of Hearts Field. The 3rd floor where only 1 stretch of hall can be found with doors alligning the walls like the hall she was in before, but this time, doors can be found on both sides and they were all wooden double doors with placks placed on them to indicate whose office they belonged to

They stopped at the very middle of the hall and to their right was a door with a plack with the words 'Hearts Field Student Council President' written onto it with black ink and below that was another plack with the words 'Vivianne Hart'

Alice couldn't help but gulp

And to make matters worst, right across that door, was another door of the same size and style - if not lighter in color and slightly bigger - with a lonely plack sitting on it with the words 'Hearts Field President' written in dark red ink

Meaning if the Student Council President wanted to expel her, she definitely can since the Hearts Field President was just across the hall and he can easily contact the Lutwidge Academy President

Hurray for bad luck

The blonde - whose name she did not know yet - knocked on the door twice then came in without waiting for the person inside to answer

They came into a comfy sand yellow and wine red themed rom and it looked very cozy

Although, Alice could not feel comfortable at all. She was worried as hell and her heart, feeling like it was thumping on her throat and almost choking her, was not helping the situation

Okay, worst case scenario, she was going to be expelled for sneaking into Hearts Field even though she was a Clover Field student

Best case scenario, suspension for around 2 to 3 weeks

Doesn't sound so bad except for the fact that a student can only absent 5 times and lucky her, she's already got 1 on most of them and it was the freaking 1st day of school

Life was so _good_ to her

The petite woman at the front desk suddenly stood up, "Good day to you, Sir Hart and Sir Night" the woman greeted politely

The blonde - Night - nodded at her and the bronze - Hart - merely smiled

They went straight to another set of double doors just beside the woman's desk and Night knocked twice and stepped inside as before

"Ah, there you are Ezekiel. I want you to find that annoying man for me" a familiar voice went from inside and Alice suddenly wanted to dig a hole and bury herself in it, never to be seen again

"Yes" came his reply then going out again in a flash of red and yellow before Alice and the other man came in to teh office

She wondered who he was ordered to find but did not dwell on the question for long for they were stepping into the room next

"Good afternoon, Vivianne" he greeted as he went in

"Good afternoon as well, Charles. By the way, where were-?" but the Presdient was cut short when Alice came into the room and Vivianne looked at her with surprised eyes from her seat behind the desk at the end of the room. "-and what brings you here, miss?" she asked suddenly facing Alice instead of Charles who was sitting on one of the couches, reopening the book he was carrying

He answered for her, "I brung her here due to the fact that I hypotisize she's an intruder in Hearts Field" he went casually as if commenttng about the weather

Way to make her sound like some criminal

Vivianne turned to him again while his eyes were still on his book, "And do you have proof of this claim?" she asked sounding very serious with a pinch of annoyance

"I had seen it with my own eyes as I sat on one of the benches in front of the Clock Tower. I had noticed her walking to the President's Building clad in a Clover Field student uniform" he explained and Alice had a feeling she was left out of the sibling's conversation even though they were talking about her

"That evidence is not enough. Do you have a picture or something more objective than your observation?" she asked further

"I would not lie to you, Vivianne. Is a witness statement not enough?" he argued but his face was composed and set in stone

"No actually, since this conversation concerns a student and the possible outcome could affect the student greatly. As Student Council President, I need the claim to be absolutely positive so as to avoid counter measures than can trouble us later in the process" was he reply, quite serious

"Then why not search her name in the school files? That would be proof enough, would it not?" Charles suggested

"Yes. That would be satisfactory" then she turned to Alice, "Miss. Please give me your name and student number" she requested politely

Alice stood there for a moment, confused, dazed and scared. Vivianne's message only made sense to her a full minute later and she quickly stuttered out her name even though in the back of her mind, she knew she shouldn't be so honest

But she was in so deep already. If she would lie it would be thr same outcome and if a person did appear and it wasn't her, it'll only accuse her of being an impostor even more

"M-My n-name is A-" but she was cut off when two knocks came from the door behind her and came in was Ezekiel with another man in tow which he was tugging by the wrist inside, and the person in custody struggling with all his might to pry the hands off

The man was so frantic, he looked around the room for a thing to hit Ezekiel with to distract him and escape until his gaze locked with Alice's

Pink clashes with blue

"ALICE!"

* * *

><p>SMACK!<p>

That was new

And both Alice and Robert knew that

She never ever _slapped _him

She preferred the power and control enforcing punch to thw face or shoulder that was bot masculine and painful, but a slap? That was more feminine and not very bone breaking or threatening

So why did she do it?

Alice never really thought it through but she knew in the unconscious and sensitive side of her mind that she did it because he left her

Let her the momemt she woke up

It was silly really

A silly childhood promise he made when they were in a haunted house at teh age of 8, and mind you, they were all alone. Robert was just as adventurous as always and he wanted them to go into the haunted house which Alice didn't know what was back then. When they went in, a woman clad in white and having very long hair jumped at them making her scream. Robert seemed very worried since she was already shaking and burying her face in his shoulder as they went along. Afterwards, he shushed her not to cry anymore and promised never to leave her alone forever- his childhood exxageration - and she nodded to it trying to calm back down

She didn't take that very seriously back then and even thought it was so corny and stupid. But in truth, Alice still holds onto that promise, sitll buried in the clutter in her mind that was her chilhood, holding onto it like a life line

In short, the slap meant utter and dreadful betrayal, something that was eating at her insides ever since that morning when she woke up for the 1st time without him there, not even a call or message left to her bedside of phone

And to Robert? She would never know if he realized the reason behind her actions

And she'd be damned to tell him the reason, she'll let him suffer the cold shoulder till she was satisfied

Cruelty my name is Alice!

She starred at him for a couple more seconds, sitting on the floor befor her, shocked speechless, his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide. It seemed everyone in the room was frozen in shock as well

The next second, she looked away from him forgetting his existence immediately and she turned to Vivianne, her eyes wide as well but then she blinked and they were back to normal

And by normal, she means slightly annoyed

But Alice started speaking before she could, "My name is Alice Fageon. 1st year Clover Field student" she announced bravely, not caring anymore what happens to her

If she was expelled, so be it

Vivianne raised a delicate eyebrow, losing the annoyance, "So you admit that you are a student of Clover Field and had snuck into Hearts Field wearing the prescribed Hearts Field uniform, correct?"

"Yes" she nodded concentrating only on the Hearts Field Student Council President

"You are aware that is a serious offense of school regulation and may lead to suspension or possible expulsion from Lutwidge Academy?" she questioned on critically

"Yes" was Alice's short answer without a smidge of hesitation

As Vivianne was about to speak again, she was cut off by a voice coming next to Alice, "Wait a second, Vivianne!" Robert's voice fetched, barging into the conversation. "I would like to take full responsibility for Alice's actions"

Alice eye's widened and she hastily turned to him beside her, surprised and... angry

Doe she think he can win her back just by taking on this oh-so noble act? Who does he think he is?

She was about to yell at him right then and there but it was the President's turn to cut her off, "And how do you propose to do that?" she asked wondering but still serious and calm

"I shall explain to the Head Master that I had ordered Alice to infiltrate Hearts Field to gain information on the personal files of the Hearts Field students. At best, the heavy punishment will befall on myself and not Alice" he explained carefully and calmly almost as serious as Vivianne

Alice has never heard him this serious

But... who would believe such a ridiculous story?

Honestly, it sounded like a secret mission assignment than a normal school offense. Gosh! She guesses whatever he does or acts like he'll always have that sillly imagination of his inside that idiotic mind

Inside, Alice was smiling while outside, she was definitely shocked

Vivianne smiled or most likely smirked, the idea amused her as well. "I see , then I trust you will head to the Head Master after this meeting, correct?" she asked almost challenging

"Yes, we will" he answered not at all worried

She nodded, "Very well then, I expect a full report from you after this matter and you know the consequences if you neglect your duties" she sounded almost threatening, _almost_

He nodded, ending the conversation

And as soon as it ended, Alice was dragged off by Robert himself until they were in the halls, the students starting to lessen since it was already the end of school for most students in Lutwidge

When they came into a particularly empty hall, he suddenly let go of her and faced her squarely

"Alice" he spoke and it was so unlike when he screamed her name when he came into the President's office, his voice then was filled with happiness and excite. But now it was only grief and desperation, it was so different. "What I did to you this morning or anything in the past, I'm sorry. Please I'm sorry for it! All of it! I'm sorry I flooded your room with gifts! I'm sorry I took you to Manchester on short notice! And I'm sorry I didn't wake you up this morning! I-I-I'm... I'm... I'm just sorry" his voice was frantic and pain stricken but in the end died down to a whisper, the small shrunken voice of a helpless child

She felt so sorry for him, she had never seen Robert get so upset. He was not the kind to break down and cry his eyes out

Forgetting her anger towards him plus shock from his stupidity and bravery, she reached up and wiped a tear on the corner of his eye with her thumb

"I'll forgive you for now but... you owe me a lifetime of parfaits at the Presiden'ts Cafe" she suggested simply

He looked at her surprised followed by a smile brighter than ever, which was followed again by a death hug

"I love you, Alice!" he exclaimed/cheered happily

"H-Hey! I can't breath, Robert!" she thrashed within his hold, creating such a ruckus in the hall; good thing there were no people around

Alice guessed as long as Robert's as clingy as ever, their friendship won't end anytime soon

And she couldn't be any happier

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **So that's it. Thank you all for stopping by this humble story.

Oh. And before I almost forget. Will you guys play a game with me?

You will? Great!

The game is simple. Each of the main characters shown in Curioser and Curioser are apart of the original cast of the original Alice books. Except one, but everybody else is seem or mentioned in the books.

All you have to do is tell me who their characters are in the original books. Simple, right?

I'll announce whoever got the correct answers in the following chapters.

So see yah then people. And thank you again for stopping by :3


	7. 6 o'clock

**A/N:** Hiya! Welcome back to Curioser and Curioser and I am here to present to you another chapter of this humble story.

But first...**  
><strong>

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED IN MY GAME! ^_^

- soulreaperforlife -

Yup, Vivianne is based off of Vivaldi or The Queen and Robert to Peter White or the White Rabbit of HnKnA

- ofThornsandRedPetals09 -

Hai! You got 6 answers correct! Nice one!

SO. Thanks again guys. Cyber... Parfaits for all of you :)

No worries to all those who still want to answer though, the game is still up till the end of the story!

So G'Luck! :3

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Alice book/characters, Heart/Clover/Joker/Anniversary/Gift Box no kuni no Alice games/manga/characters, and I do not own anything else aside from this story and the characters BASED on the before mentioned. I'm also sorry if I offend anyone from China who may/may not be reading this.

So, without further ado, let's the story commence! Enjoy! ^_^

* * *

><p><strong>*6 o'clock*<strong>

_**Ding!**_

"But I thought you'd already forgiven me Alice" Robert White exclaimed pleadingly as he trudged behind her, his back hunched and his steps heavy and lazy

Said blonde woman did not reply, keeping her gaze straight ahead at the base of the Clock Tower as if she did not hear him at all

"Hey. Hey, Alice. Please pay attention to me" he continued to plead but still no response

For Alice, he definitely deserved the silent treatment today. Just because she did say she had forgiven him yesterday, didn't mean he can get back to her good books just like that. No, quite the contrary. She'll make him pay and make him suffer to teach him a lesson on leaving your best friend to be late and most likely expelled

Speaking of which, he didn't take her to the President's office, didn't he? They did go straight home after talking with Vivianne since it was getting late and class has already ended. But when they did get to her house, she didn't speak a single word to Robert and slammed the door on his face when she came in. Though for once, he didn't force his way in anyway

The next day, Robert came to escort her to school but she ignored him and came into the car thanking Bryan - the man in black holding the limousine door open for her. Robert came in as well almost in tears but he let it pass as soon as the car started, and began to try to make conversation with her, though she was successful in fully ignoring him all the way only looking outside the window as the streets of London zoomed by

And now here they were, walking to Clover Field for their first class on the 2nd day of school. But all that was in Alice's mind was what to say to her teachers on why she was absent yesterday

She could say she was sick but she needed a note from a parent or a hospital's letter to prove that

She could say she was late and didn't bother coming in, but that only works for 1st period

Hmmm... what to do.. what to do...?

They were nearing the Clover Field building when she noticed something amiss

Students were chatting and walking past, the leaves were rustling on the trees when the wind blew and... Robert's voice cannot be heard

Alice remembered yesterday and had thought he had left her again, which caused her anger to flare but when she turned around to confirm her suspicion, she was surprised to see she was wrong

Robert was still there, his mouth set in a grim line and his expression endlessly sad

She took a long look at him and sighed out tiredly

"If I start talking to you again, will you stop giving me that face?" she grudgingly let out, feeling very defeated right then

She'd completely forgotten not to look in his eyes when he was sad. She should've remembered that after yesterday's stunt - he completely broke down in front of her

She shouldn't look into his eyes anymore

It was probably because she wasn't really use to seeing him so upset

Robert's face and mood instantly lightened up followed by screaming with all his might a "Yes!", like a woman answering her lover when he popped the question; only the man was the one screaming with joy except for the woman in their situation

And they were standing in front of a lot of students going into the Clover Field building so they were immediately stared at when he screamed

She should've chosen a better location

"Alright, let's go to class then!" he fetched excitedly, grabbing her wrist and looking at her with very bright pink eyes

Then the next second, they were off to their homeroom/Economics class in room 224. Alice being half dragged by her overly hyper friend who was gleeful and showed it to the world

After a record time of half a minute, they arrived to said room with Alice panting hard and Robert completely shining with joy

He took the door knob in his hand but then stopped from turning it and looked at her beside him

"Oh and by the way, Alice" he spoke, getting her attention as she tried to calm her racing heart, "I dare you to spend the entirety of the day with me" were the words that came out of his smiling mouth and she couldn't help but be shocked speechless

She didn't know how to exactly feel at that moment, she felt shocked, angry, confused, regretful, tricked and irked all from just 12 words she just recently heard from her very unbelievable friend

She wanted to say a retort, when she finally caught herself, but he had already gone into the room, leaving her with an angry feeling bubbling inside her system

"Hey wait!" she chased after him, holding the door before it closed completely and stepping in herself, "Robert!" she called angrily, not thinking if the teacher was already there

"Alice" was the chorus of 2 male voices that were familiar to her ear and it was definitely not a teacher's

The door closed behind her as two identical males approached her, both with black hair and sapphire eyes

"You two..." she said,a bit surprised that they were classmates

"It really was you, Alice" Demetry said joyfully

"We knew we were all classmates" Dennis added as if having a Eureka! moment

"Demetry, Dennis" she paused, remembering a little something that happened yesterday; she suddenly crossed her arms and glared at them, icilly. "Why did you two leave me in Hearts Field yesterday?" she demanded coolly, her tone containing the calm before the storm

They went wide eyed and looked at each other, frightened. "Well, we just..." Demetry's voice was shaky

"Actually we..." Dennis' wasn't any better either

The glare intensified, she was getting impatient, "Well?"

"Ahm.." was both their replies until someone interrupted them

"Hey, who are you two?" said a person she had forgotten was there as she glared at the twins

Their scared expression quickly vanished to be replaced by one of annoyance. "And who are you to ask such a question..." Demetry went in the same tone as Robert

"...old man?" Dennis continued, same as the other

This sudden change of heart surprised Alice, she couldn't even speak at all to interfere

"Old man? I happen to be the same age as the both of you" Robert inquired, quite insulted

"As if.." Demetry snorted

"... what kind of person has white hair and not be 70 or 80?" Dennis questioned, unconvinced

"It is not white! It's light blonde!" he shrieked angrily at them

"It still looks white to us" was their smug reply and Robert wasn't looking any happier

Thinking that they seemed to have completely ignored her, Alice sighed out tiredly and squeezed out of the conversation unnoticed, finding a seat and setting herself on it as her friends made even more of a fool of themselves since almost everyone in the room were already looking at them bantering over Robert's hair color

The 3 of them made a pretty good match, only, if they became friends, they'd only annoy her to no end

No, being enemies is better for now

The next few minutes of Alice's time were spent in thinking up excuses to her professor, some almost making her laugh or barf but either way she'd have to think of something soon

By the time the professor arrived, the commotion and the audience quickly went to find seats. Since Alice sat at the edge of the 4th row, Robert quickly made a beeline and sat beside her with a smile etched on his face but that dropped immediately when the twins sat at her other side while smiling arrogantly at Robert, this served to make him very angry

Alice suddenly had the urge to bonk them all on the head for their immaturity but the teacher was already there so best save the bonking for later

Speaking of teacher...

"Demetry, Dennis. Do you two have a free schedule?" she asked to her left as the two boys turned to her

"No"

"Why?"

To another person, it would seem hard to tell them apart from the other but to Alice, she could easily tell though she wasn't really sure why. But it was to the point that she knew Dennis was sitting beside her and he was the one that answered

"I was just wondering if the two of you attended classes yesterday other than Chemistry?" she attended that only to find it was her room indeed by the end of said class

"Not really" Demetry shook his head

"There was no classes to attend to since the professors were having a conference about class mix-ups and late enrollments" Dennis explained

"They announced it at the Clover Field assembly yesterday morning, did you not come?" Demetry smiled as if he thought she was skipping

She shook her head, smiling meekly, "Not really, I was late then and wasn't able to attend it. But what about Chemistry? Why did our professor come even though there was a conference?" she asked confused slight

"We knew Prof. Sergione would be a stickler for keeping his already planned schedule of the day and couldn't bear not attending his classes" Dennis almost wanted to laugh of amusement

Alice was slightly impressed at their accuracy, maybe they knew someone that studied here before. A cousin, perhaps?

Or maybe, it was just bizarre luck

But for all that is fortune telling, she was lucky the two bought her there. Prof. Sergione didn't look like a very nice man at all, it would've been hard to explain her absence to him

She nodded and muttered a "Thank you" as she returned to looking at the professor on the stage below, while in the corner of her eye, Robert had his face on the table in front of them, while on her other side, the twins were smiling happily

She could almost make out the sign 'defeated' engraved on his back as he lay there, and she couldn't believe the immaturity of all this

That's life living with children for yah.

* * *

><p>Next subject was English<p>

And yet, the 3 still glared at each other all the way, serving to tick her off in more ways than she could handle

She ended up screaming at them within the crowded hall catching a lot of attention from the students minding their own business... or used to

But she ignored all of them as the 3 consented to behave

Though still...

They still DARE to disobey her!

Before a blooming headache destroys her mood entirely, she was saved when she noticed someone familiar about to enter their room for English

"Seigfried" she called to get his attention and it did, as he turned to them from previously trying to step into class

"Alice" he spoke as she went to him, hoping he could save her from the idiots trailing behind her

"I didn't know you go to this class as well" Alice commented, wondering if he was a freshman like them

"Well I failed English last year so I have to make up for it now while still going on my regular classes" he said slightly embarrassed, smiling the smile she knew from yesterday

"Ah..." she nodded to it but wondered why he failed. Was the professor absolutely strict towards him?

Alice was about to say something else when a voice or voices interrupted her, "Seigfried!"

They turned to see Demetry and Dennis coming towards them, both smiling at him

"Oh! Long time no see, you two" Seigfried greeted as they bumped their fist with each other in a manly sort of greeting

"Yah, we thought you'd never make it to enrollment"

"How was China? We haven't seen you in months, you know"

"Crowded, really. And the language was a pain" he answered, mock pain in his tone

They laughed like good old friends would, while Alice was standing there confused. They all knew each other?

And China?

What did Seigfried do there?

Vacation?

Was that the reason he failed English? Did he run away from his studies?

All these questions circled in her head and when things couldn't get any weirder, it just had to

"Seigfried" was voiced out suddenly coming from behind her by none other than Robert and he looked straight at said brown haired man

He stopped laughing and looked his way, "Oh hey there, Robert. I haven't seen you in a while" he remarked smiling still

"Well, you did just run away from home to travel to another country without anyone's consent or a fair warning at least on where you were going to and why" was Robert's cold reply which almost made Alice's jaw drop to the floor

"Though I did send letters to mother and father and also to miss Edgith on where I was" he defended raising his palms up as if he meant no harm, his smile contorted to show nervousness

"But that's still not an excuse for running away and failing half your classes in the middle of freshmen year" he countered back harshly, then tsked and turned to Alice beside him, his mood much more cheerful than when he talked to Seigfried, "C'mon Alice, I don't want us getting late for class" he announced smiling as he always did as if he didn't see Seigfried in the first place

He took her wrist as he opened the door behind her very dazed form and dragged her inside, followed by Dennis and Demetry who did not like being left behind, leaving Seigfried there by himself, smiling bitterly

By the time, Alice digested all the new found information from her 4 friends, the professor had already arrived so she had to question either Robert or Seigfried later, but since she still had Robert's dare hanging on her shoulders, he was the only option she had

When class ended, Robert and the twins were back to glaring at each other, while Seigfried was already gone. With 2 fingers stuck firmly to the shell of Robert's left ear and after a quick "See you, guys" to the twins, she dragged Robert off to the President's Cafe partly for lunch and parfaits and partly for questioning him on Seigfried

"Alright, Robert. Answer me. What's your relationship with Seigfried?" she asked, straight to the point. Interrogation wasn't very common between them, usually he would just blurt out information into her ear at the most awkward of moments, for example, her enrollment to Lutwidge

He sipped his tea, satisfaction written all over his face, "Tea before lunch is so delicious" he was in total bliss, and had completely ignored her

"Stop messing around with me, Ro-!" her rant was cut off by a question

"Why do you want to know so much?" he asked curiously

She stopped, why did she want to know?

...

"For the sake of knowing" she blurted out, unable to find a better answer. "Now tell me already" she demanded, impatience was not her best asset

Robert silently placed the cup down before speaking, "Seigfried is my cousin, Alice" he said , sighing after, as if it was the dullest information in the world

Though not to Alice, she didn't know much about Robert's family, she only knows a bit about his mother, Mrs. White, but she barely sees her at his house. He never really talked about his family to her yet he knew her's like the back of his hand, her entire family did too

He usually spends holidays with Alice's family when they turned 10, so everybody in her family knew about the white haired boy she was always with

But Alice? She doubts anyone - except maybe mrs. White - knew she even existed in Robert's life

What a best friend for almost 14 years she was

"He ran away to China in the middle of his freshman year in Lutwidge to study the martial arts. He did not tell anyone of this until he went missing for a month or so, and sent a letter to my uncle and aunt telling them where he was and when he'll return. I was furous at him because he made our family so worried and today is the 1st day I'se seen him in over half a year" he explained as he continued to drink down his tea everytime he paused

She was a bit surprised on how serious Robert was, other than yesterday at Vivianne's office, his serious mood was starting to come up more often

Then he froze and looked at his cup in surprise, "I'm already out of tea" he inquired both shocked and disappointed, tilting his cup upside down to show it was truly empty

Okay, he can become serious but not for more than 5 minutes

Though she would admit she liked it better when he was silly, it was entertaining

Speaking of yesterday...

"Robert, one more question" he looked up at her while putting his cup down, telling her she had his full attention, "What were you doing in Hearts Field yesterday?"

He tensed, "W-Well, I was..." he started looking pretty nervous then

"I saw you act as a part time announcer as well during the Hearts Field Freshmen Assembly" she added and he tensed even more

After a few minutes that he didn't answer her and instead glanced nervously around them, avoiding eye contact, she sighed. "Robert, tell me..."

"... Are you enrolled in Hearts Field?"

"No!" he denied, too quickly for her liking. "I'm not a Hearts Field student. I was just asked to help out there since Vivianne wanted me to. We were friends before she entered Lutwidge" he explained fully and honestly, but she still felt like he was hiding something

"Then why were you so nervous?" she asked suspiciously

"Because..." he started, frightened, "... they wanted me to enroll there instead" was his simple answer as he pouted and pleaded with his eyes as if telling her to say no to the idea

Will she?

She's honestly not sure

She wasn't the person to decide for him if he stays in Clover Field or not. It was solely his decision, if he wanted to stay he could, if he didn't then she couldn't stop him

Although... having him in Hearts Field will make it difficult to go home since she takes rides with him to and from school. And also, she'd lose her reason for staying in Lutwidge

Alice placed her chin in her hand with her elbow resting on the table, "I'm in no position to decide for you, Robert. If you want to go then-" she was interrupted yet again by his outburst

"But I don't want to!" he exclaimed desperately

She turned very confused

"Then if you don't want to, why not decline their offer?" she suggested, matter-of-factly

"Since they told me if I didn't... you'd get expelled, Alice" he said sadly

And now, she knew the depth of the situation

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Finished! So that's it! Hope to see you guys next time. Byeniiiieeee! :3 Oh, and plz leave a comment if you like/dislike this story. Constructive Criticism will be appreciated!

Okay. Stand and Bow! Arigato gozaimas, minna-san! ^_^


	8. 7 o'clock

**A/N:** I'm very sorry for the lateness. Gomenasai. But plz enjoy! :)

***7 o'clock***

_**Ding!**_

If Robert didn't become a Hearts student, she'll be _expelled_!

What kind of president black mails a student like that? And by dragging the person they were close to as well. What was wrong with them?

Hearts Field is completely insane!

Alice stared at him with wide eyes, "Are you serious? You're not joking around, are you?" she dared hoping he would just laugh out loud suddenly and scream that she totally fell for it but...

He shook his head

... he didn't

Okay, this has become - and surprisingly - serious

But why did Vivianne want her to get expelled so badly? Even forcing Robert to enroll into Hearts Field

Or was it.. she just wanted him to join Hearts Field and Alice just became convenient bait?

Well... the latter reason seemed more realistic; she did just meet Vivianne yesterday and she hadn't done anything that would cause her to gain a heavy grudge against her. While she's known Robert in the past and she might've just wanted to reacquaint with him

Though, in Alice's opinion, the Hearts Field Student Council President chose a very poor strategy to get to Robert

But it's troublesome to say the least

"Honestly, Robert. As I've said it's your decision. The Clover and Hearts Field curriculum isn't that different, right? So there's not much of a difference if you transfer" Alice proclaimed from across him on the table as he looked at her with pleading eyes still on as she talked to him

"But-" he stated but stopped suddeny when a thought seemed to come into his mind, "There's no difference?" he repeated wondering

She nodded, curious on what was going through his mind

"Then..." he smiled victoriously, "...you'll have to transfer with me, Alice"

Alice almost choked on her drink and stared at him wide eyed. Yet somehow she expected him to say something along those lines, or that it would be something that had both of them would end up together wherever it was

She was, about to comment on how ridiculous that idea was - not that she could _not_ go since Robert was the reason she was in Lutwidge Academy in the first place and that, for one thing, Robert was as persistent as a kid in a candy store - when the uncanny rustling of the tall rose bushes a couple of feet away alerted them and made them stare at it

A couple of seconds later, a familiar head popped out from the high plant, "Did someone say Alice?" the man asked happily glancing straight at them, then spotting said girl and smiling even more, "Alice!"

Matthew rushed out the bushes and went straight to the female , hugging her tightly when he go sloce enough, while the _hugged_ only looked slightly surprised. "Matthew?"

Meanwhile, the other occupant of the table was furious, "Hey, let go of Alice, you!" Robert screeched angrily but the two ignored him

"What're you doing here?" she asked as he let go but still kept his arms around her neck. She didn't feel that uncomfortable with the close proximity, if not, not at all

Cute cerulean eyes looked at her, "I was going to have lunch since March and Hunter don't come out till 1:30 but I got a little lost" he admitted, asmiling at her still

"I see" though she thought it was a bit strange that they had separate lunch times when it looked like they were the types of friends never to go apart, e.g. her and Robert. "Why not have lunch with us then?" she suggested

"Alice!" Robert complained, over hearing her offer to Matthew

She turned to him, "What is it, Robert?" she asked as the dark brown haired man hugging her turned to the angry blonde as well

"Why're you inviting _him _to lunch with us?" he reffred to Matthew as if he was some unwanted lost child which irked her a bit and made the man pout sadly, his smile dropping away

"Cause I want to, so he's eating with us whether you like it or not" she declared in a tone that was final

It was Robert's turn to pout but with anger and annoyance unlike Matthew's, "No way! I refuse to let him sit with us" Robert argued, not wanting to give up anytime soon

Alice was getting tired of this, it was clear her best friend wasn't going to give in while she wasn't going to let Matthew eat all alone by himself, it'll be bad on her conscience

As she thought of what to say, Matthew suddenly let his hold on her fall, "I think I'll just have my lunch elsewhere, Alice" he announced smiling reassuringly

"What? No. It's fine, Matthew. Right, _Robert_?" she insisted then turned to her best friend, making a quick glare when she said his name

"No. Please go ahead and leave" Robert said, a hint of sarcasm in his tone and cheeky smile

She was so going to punch him the moment school ended

Matthew nodded toward his direction seeming to have not noticed the sarcasm from Robert or he totally disregarded it

He turned back to her and smiled happily despite total rejection from the other person on the table, "I'll just see you around Alice" he said warmly though before she could say that he could stay, he suddenly pecked her on the cheek, surprising both Alice and Robert

Before either could react, he smiled, waved good bye abd was gone from sight

He had just... kissed her?

Well, it was on the cheek but still... Nobody's kissed her before, not even Robert. He's tried but let's just say his success rate wasn't very surprising

So that would explain the deadly glare that Robert was sending her way when she settled back down and looked at him, though she thought he was just that over protective of her

They were like brother and sister after all, and he hasn't seen her interact much with other men other than him and her father

"Alice" he spoke with utter and horrifying malice in his tone; she shivered inwardly, she would never guess Robert could get this angry with her, "I band you from seeing that man ever again" he ordered like some father to his disobeying child

She planned on protesting saying he had no right, but nobody would be stupid enough to argue when Robert got really, _really_ serious and angry. She might be the type to counter most of his orders, but this could be an exemption

Alice slowly nodded to him which seemed to have calmed him down instantly, but he would never know that she had crossed her fingers on her lap under the table

If this was still techinically lying, it wsa a first between her and Robert

Sorry, Robert

* * *

><p>By the next class, Robert was still in an endlessly bad mood and it wasn't getting any better any time soon<p>

And this she was sure of since their next class was Political Law; no, it wasn't because of the professor or the subject itself, it was because of the... classmates

"Huh?"

"Oh, it's you again. And Robert as well"

"Ahm... Is this a Mixed Class?"

"It seems that way"

Robert and Alice looked around the quiet room where there were both Clover and Hearts uniforms being worn by the students inside the room in the President's building, where they were currently in

And standing right in front of them were none other than the brother of the Hearts Field President and right behind him was the President's assistant

"I did not expect to see the both of you especially in a class such as this" Charles Hart looked at the both of them as they stood in front of the classroom door and he and Ezekiel were about to go outside

"Yes. Same here" Alice replied awkwardly, knowing fully well that Ezekiel and Charles were not freshmen and she had extremely bad luck

"Oh and by the way Robert, my sister wants to follow up the report of miss Alice's misbehaviours yesterday. Has it been done yet?" Charles requested smilign cooly

Robert shook his head, "No. Not yet. I haven't had the chance to report it to the Lutwidge Academy President's office" he spoke formally like how he addressed Vivianne before

"Hmm.. That's not good. Do you want me to do the follow up instead? I don't mind" he volunteered calmly

"It's fine, Charles. I'll do it myself" he declared smoothly and Charles nodded to this and excused them as Alice and Robert went in and took a seat

Alice had been quiet throughout their conversation but honestly, she was worried. It was obvious that Robert was never going to pass that report and if he doesn't, they'll be in big trouble with the Hearts Field Student Council President

"Robert. What if Charles tells Vivianne you haven't passed the report yet?" Alice asked, worry coloring her face

He didn't seem too worried, "He won't but Ezekiel will probably tell of the matter and they'll pass the report themselves" he said nonchalantly

And he was okay with that? What was wrong with him?

"Then what happens? I get punished? And you might get caught as well" she was thankful the professor wasn't there yet since she won't be able to concentrate with this issue circling and clouding her mind; not to mention Robert's infuriatingly calm attitude towards the matter

"Calm down, Alice. You won't get punished at all" he assured her, smiling at her panic stricken facade

Alice said nothing since the question was already written all over her face

What?

Robert smiled wider before clicking his tongue and wagging his finger in front of her, "Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. You've become such a forgetful child, Alice. remember that I am the President's son and when the issue is discussed in the Lutiwdge Academy Court, I'll plee that I planned the entire thing with you as a helpless victim and since my moter is President, the jury'll think this' but a family matter and let my mother decide my punishment at home. And also, it's absurd to think that I'd steal files from Hearts Field since I already have access to them and I already know them since I'm my mother's successor. Most people would even think the entire thing was but a joke" he finished his explanation, and Alice processed it for a moment

It was the stupidest, most ingenius plan she's ever hear. She guesses being the President's son had a lot of benefits

"I can't believe you made me worry over nothing... again" she slumped on the table top, suddenly feeling very exhausted. She didn't even have enough energy to yell at him anymore

"What? Were you really that worried?" Robert asked curiously but with a hint of amusement

"Of course I was!" she yelled to the table since her head was on top of it, until a thought came into her mind, "Then what about Vivianne's threat that she'd expel me if you didn't transfer to Hearts Field? Can she really do that?" she asked, sitting up straught once more

"I think she can and she does still hold evidence of reasons for your expulsion" he seemed thoughful

Alice turned wide eyed, "What? But I thought you already planned to pin it on thin air?" she demanded, infuriated that Robert was spinning her emotions around like this

"Yes, I did. But she can still argue that you had trespassed in Hearts Field property, used the prescribed uniform for improper purposes and admitted to doing so at point blank" he relayed this to her and she seriously wanted to punch those twins that had got her into this much trouble

"Then how do I explain that at court?"

"Well you've already amitted it to them, Alice. There'd be no point bringing it to court anymore. The best we can do is to stop Vivianne from sending the report to the President or..." he went back to brooding over something in his thoughts

"Or?" she urged him onto to continue, feeling her anxiety pooling in her stomach

"... or we just talk to my mon and ask her not to do anything about the report at all" he said, smiling like he just thought of the best idea in the world. "That's it. Problem solved, Alice"

Alice's jaw dropped but she quickly caught herself as a blooming head ache started to erupt from within her skull, "So, let me get this traight. We could have just asked Miss White to ignore the report all along without going through the trouble of brainstorming ideas and putting your earlier plan into fruition?" she spoke in a hard voice, trying to restrain herself from screaming

"Yup. That's correct!" Robert cheered, nodding happily

A vein popped on her temple and when she was about to give a good punch or two onto the good-for-nothing, white haired man before her, she just had to get interrupted

Honestly, she was thankful

"Alice!" The Weald brothers exclaimed together as Dennis climbed up the front of the table in front of her and Demetry pushed Robert's face - hard - onto the table in front of him and placed his elbows on the back of Robert's head and his chin on his hands

"Sorry we're late, Alice" Dennis said pouting sadly

"You must have suffered in the company of this stupid old man" Demetry continued, sporting the same pout as his brother

At this, Robert quickly sat up straight with an angry look on his face and his forehead going red from the hit to the table, "Who are you calling stupid, you annoying brats!" he dared, glaring at the two

"We're merely stating the painfully obvious, old man!" Demetry huffed insulted

"And look at Alice, she'd looked so stressed before we came along" Dennis said, pointing at Alice, who felt a sweat drop, not knowing what to say

"It's. All. Your. Fault!" they chorused angrily at the rabbit loving fellow

Dennis quickly got off the table taking Alice's hand as Dememtry followed suit, "Let's go, Alice" he scopped

"Let's leave the old man to himself" the other continued before they stuck their tongues out at Robert and they walked away with her in between them

When Alice finally found her voice back as they walked away, she had only managed to say a "Hey, wait a minute!" which was promptly ignored by the two teens

While Robert was seething with anger behind them, "Those brats!" he said under his breath as if it was some curse and prepared to give chase to them

"Wait, where're we going? What about class?" Alice asked as the two brothers went straight for the door out of the room

But when they were about to reach for the knob, the door suddenly opened and Charles and Ezekiel stepped inside

"Ezekiel?" the twins voiced out in unison making said blonde man turn to them

"Oh. The Weald brothers" he said nonchalantly

"It is him, brother" Demetry said, his eyes gleaming

Dennis nodded happily, "It sure is, brother"

"How've you been, Ezekiel?"

"We haven't seen you in ages"

"Do you know these two, Ezekiel?" Charles asked, mildly curious

"Yes, they are the Weald siblings. I had met them during my stay at Florida a couple of years ago when I was assigned to handle some business matters for my parents" he answered with no hint of emotion crossing his face or tone

"And we haven't heard from you ever since then" Dennis said, slightly disappointed

"But I can't believe you study at this school as well. Such a small world" Demetry commented, smiling boyishly

"Yes quite" Ezekiel nodded and Alice could've sworn she saw a ghost of a smile pass over his lips

Before they could continue their reminiscing, the professor suddenly came in and everyone sat down, Robert grabbing this opportunity to sit next to Alice while the twins expertly sat next to her as the other two sat up front

Class started but in Alice's mind were the events of a while ago, Dennis and Demetry knew Ezekiel. She wondered how they all met. Ezekiel didn't look like a noisy person and the twins were two of the most loudest people she's ever met aside from Robert, and to think they all got to the same school. It _was_ such a small world!

Wait a minute

The twins all knew Ezekiel, Alistair and Seigfried and she just met these people yesterday. Why does she have a feeling that...?

No, she was over thinking things

At least the trouble with the Hearts Field Student President was already over, now she can concentrate on her studies and what the teacher was blabbing on about politics

Everything was finally settled

Finally...


	9. 8 o'clock

**A/N: **For all the CC readers our there. I'm so sorry this took so long T.T I've been busy with school and such and kinda forgot about this story. But I will be eternally grateful to all those who would still read this story and comment/favorite/follow and such. THANKS AGAIN AND SORRY :( ^_^

***8 o'clock***

_**Ding!**_

Why was she always wrong? Why? Oh, why? Oh, WHY?!

"You're kidding me, right?" a certain light brown haired man said, his left eye twitching with annoyance as he sat there looking up at Alice's white haired best friend , who, like teh other, looked right about ready to scream

Alice looked at the two men questionably, they've been staring at each other for the past 10 minutes as if they've seen the worst thing since global warming, or, for a more Robert-related comparison, since Yosemite Sam killed Bugs Bunny - minus the tears

She'd never forget the look on Robert's face the day after they watched the video, he looked like a girl just coming home from a break-up with her fiance

The other man suddenly looked away placing his hand over his eyes as if he was so stressed, "I thought I'd finally gotten rid of you this time" he spoke tiredly and Robert bristled with disbelief and anger

"Hey, it's not my fault we're in the same class!" he yelled at him angrily, glaring knives

The man stood up sliging his bag to his shoulder, "I know. I'm leaving" was all he said as he went towards the door out of the room

But as he walked to the door on the wall behind Robert, he stepped around him and noticed Alice standing behind him and his expression went form annoyed to shocked when he saw her

"You again" he spoke quietly, almost unbelieved

For a moment, Alice didn't speak? Why? It was simple, because of the man's expression. He looked as if he'd seen a ghost as he looked at her. It was so completely different from the initial way he looked at her during the last time they met. Speaking of, where were Hunter and Matthew?

"What about me, March?" she asked wondering as said man just stood there

"Yes. What about her... brother?" Robert said menacingly placing a hand on March's shoulder, his eyes carrying death, but what he said caught her attention even more

March was about to yell at the guy but was interrupted when Alice accidentally voiced out her thoughts, "Brother? You're March White?" she spoke wide eyed

It was him! It was the guy she saw before! The other boy in Robert's baby pictures. The brother she's never talked to. The one Robert said was a rabbit hater. The one who...

He shrugged Robert's hand off his shoulder, his cheeks showing signs of redness, "So? What about it? It's a curse really, having to be stuck with a stupid fool like him" he grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck for reasons she didn't know

Though Alice couldn't answer him for she was busy thinking back to the past, to the brown haired boy that she met when she separated from Robert to look out the window over-looking a beautiful garden, but when she turned back, her companion was already gone

She wandered the tall white halls for she didn't know how long, looking in every room, hoping to find someone that'll help her reach Robert but when she did find someone, it was not her white haired best friend or a maid as she had hoped, it was a boy the same age as her with light cinnamon brown hair and dark eyes, looking at her blankly as she stared back

She was afraid to speak for he looked really angry with her - even though she only realized after she went home later that same night that he looked more dull than angry - until he spoke up, "You're lost, aren't you?" he accused nonchalantly

Alice took this as a sign that he would help her and quickly nodded gleefully, taking a few steps forward in the process

He nodded to her once and started walking away, looking behind him every so often to make sure she was really following him. When she found Robert who was turing a corner in another hall towards her, she quickly squeled and launched herself at him of happiness that she was finally found; but when she turned back, the boy that helped her was already gone

She only found out who he was when she saw a picture of them together and other than saying they were brothers, Robert said no more, although he did say he was a lying, conniving, lazy, annoying, girly, rabbit hater that he wished he was never related to

Alice finally came out of her reverie and smiled at March causing the man in front of her - who was previously looking at her for the past 5 seconds, wondering why she was so spaced out suddenly - to become even more redder than before

"I haven't had the chance to thank you before. So thank you very much for helping me back then" she said gleefully, smiling such a bright smile at him

"A-A-Ah. S-Sure. No problem at all" he didn't know what she was talking about exactly but the smile on her face made his heart skip beats sporadically

Meanwhile, Robert was fuming in utter, desolate anger. Alice._ His_ Alice. His best friend was smiling at his god forsaken bloody brother and thanking him for hell knows what! This was UNACCEPTABLE!

Somehow, Robert felt his body run on auto for one second he was glaring butcher knives at the two, then the next he was grabbing March's collar and was about to punch him square on the jaw, if a hand had not grabbed it in mid-flight before it could land on his designated target

Alice stared wide-eyed as someone quickly came in between her, Robert and March, haulting Robert's attempt of beating the life out of his brother. It happened so fast, she had a hard time processing what had just happened until the intruder suddenly spoke

"Violence is not allowed within school grounds. You of all people should know that Robert, being the son of our Acedemy's President" the man's languid voice said, looking straight at him as he kept a firm grasp on Robert's wrist

When he was about to give his retort, colored with curses and destructive emotions, Alice quickly sensed it, miraculously found her voice and spoke his name in warning, "Robert" which can roughly be translated to, 'Stop being stupid and drop it, Robert. Class' starting and I don't want you ruining it for all of us and getting us in trouble'

He gritted his teeth in annoyance but obediently let his arm drop and release March's collar causing the thick air to dissapate as quickly as it had come

The White brothers glared at each other until the teacher arrived and Alice swiftly placed a hand in Robert's to lead him away from a potential fight. Good thing, March kept himself away as well

Their class was Music so it was basically an easy subject since Alice did quite well on the piano meaning she had time to not listen to the teacher and just doodle on har notebook. Though after a while, a note suddeny found its was to her desk after being passed by the girl in front of her

She looked around to where it could have been from and then slouched down a little in her seat to read it under her table. It read...

_Alice,_

_Forgive me for showing up out of the blue a while ago, it seemed the 3 of you were in quite a pinch. I hadn't known such a family feud was occuring with the two. So, I would like to know what had caused it? Care to inform me?_

_Phillip_

She quickly looked up after reading the name and spotted the black haired man at the 2nd row, 3 seats away from her. Oh, now she remembers. He was the one she met during Chemistry with the twins yesterday. And he's also the only one who didn't freak out about her name or stare at her stupidly

She re-read the note again and scribbled a reply onto it

_Phillip,_

_I know so far that they both despise each other very much although I'm not sure why. I don't really know much of their relationship. Robert refuses to tell me when I ask_

Then she paused, remembering what Phillip wrote on the note and how he addressed Robert

_Also, can I ask what kind of relationship you have with Robert? Are you two friends?_

_Alice_

She passed the note forward and 3 minutes later, a reply came back

_Alice,_

_Not exactly so. I do not know him in a personal level, we are were acquaintances for I speak with President White often and I happen to catch him in her office at times_

_Phillip_

Her curiosity spiked

_Phillip,_

_I see. Although, why are you such a frequent guest of the President? If I may ask. Do you get_

She quickly changed her mind and sharply doodled zig zag lines over the last three words in her reply, then wrote _Alice_ in the end before sending it back to him

Phillip didn't look like the type to get in trouble and get called to the President's office, and he didn't mention Robert to be his relative, so he had no relation with him as well. She wondered what could be the reason for his visits to the main office

When the note came back, Alice stiffened a little. It sounded as if she wrote down the question in her mind and he answered it in that slightly crinkled piece of white parchment

_Alice,_

_My frequent visits to the President are not because I have done something wrong nor is it because we are related for we truly are not. It is only due to the fact that I am the Clover Field Student Council President that I am required to bring in reports of student activities to the Academy President_

_Phillip_

Phew. She knew he wasn't the kind to...

She re-read the note again, staring at the 5 words written neatly and perfectly on the papers smooth surface, shocking her to no end. _Clover Field Student Council President_

Alice quietly looked up with wide eyes at the back of Phillip's head still unable to believe he was actually their Student President

Well, she really didn't know much of Clover Field in the 1st place but still, it really came as a surprise to her. Though he does look like a leader-type, wise beoynd his years

Alice quickly wrote a reply and when it landed on Phillip's desk, it read...

_Phillip,_

_That's amazing. I didn't know you were our Council President, Phillip. Thank you for doing a wonderful job_

_Alice_

After reading it, Phillip quickly went back to listening, sending back no reply

When class ended, Alice had no time to say good bye to Phillip or March for she saw Robert starting up another glaring contest with March, but before it could progress into a fight - and before they became late - she quickly dragged Robert away to their next class

Also known as Robert's most hated class

Gym

"Aw. I hate Gym. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it! Let's skip, Alice. Please" he groaned pouting, then pleading with his puppy dog eyes as Alice looked out at the many courts where students wearing Clover Field Gym uniforms were either playing Basketball, Volleyball, Badminton and others

She ignored him, counting his complaint to be number 20... something; she lost count at 15. And also, she wanted to avoid looking him in the eyes, after all, Robert's mastered said look. She was sure of it. So best avoid and ignore him before she truly does get persuaded

A whistle suddenly sounded to her right and she inclined her head a bit to be met with red, or students wearing Hearts Field colors to be exact

Yes, the Gym was so big - the size of 3 basketball arenas or an entire football field - both Clover and Hearts Field Gym classes were held together in it, meaning 1 half was full of blue and the other red, but the Gym itself was a light shade of white and gold

She didn't have a problem with Hearts Field, no, she just had a problem with their Student President and her brother. But thankfully, after she scanned the Hearts Field students, none of them seemed to be the two mentioned, so she was safe from danger, for now

Alice sighed in relief, seeing a bright end to her day with no more mishaps

Both Alice and Robert sat there with all the other students watching the games of others as they played, thinking of nothing in particular - like why the teacher wasn't there yet. Alice became quite bored and turned to Robert to spark up some kind of conversation to pass the time - he'd stopped trying to convince her to leave Gym only minutes before she decided to talk to him - but when she turned to her right toward him, her eyes first landed on a group of 4 wearing both Clover and Hearts Gym clothes and chatting with each other

She slowly stood up and waved to them as they looked up at her. The two in blue quickly smiled and ran to her side

"Alice!" they chorused hugging her on each side both smiling splendidly

"We missed you, Alice" Dennis said happily

"Did you miss us?" Demetry asked, hoping that she'll answer with a yes

Before she could answer though, a new yet familiar voice suddenly interrupted them, "Long time no see, girlie" was the tall man's greeting and when she looked up, she confirmed that it was the man she saw with Seigfried yesterday

The annoying brat-faced man

'It hasn't been long enough!', was suppose to be her reply but she held it back. "Quite" she smiled a small smile, not wanting it to seem forced, that she really wanted to give the guy a punch ot two

"Learn some manners, you!" Robert quickly interjected in, standing between him and Alice

"Make me, boy" he challenged, taking a step toward Robert, intimidating him even though they were the same height

Alice was about to go and stop them when Alistair suddenly placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Stop it, Stanley. We're not here to urge a fight on" he reminded, patting his shoulder twice until Stanley stepped back ad so did Robert but the two still glared at each other

She suddenly let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, thankful for Alistair stepping in

After that little commotion, the twins beside her started pulling her arms toward an empty Volleyball area

"C'mon Alice, let's play together" Demetry insisted, pulling her along like Dennis was doing with her left arm

"Yes. Yes. Let's" he agreed, smiling at her

Althoug Alice wasn't much of a sporty girl, she felt kindda excited to play a game with the two

They started playing with the two men against 1 her and basically, she was losing. Who knew Volleyball could be so hard! But she was saved when Alistair joined in and helped her. Soon, all 6 of them were playing 3 on 3 with Robert on her side with Alistair and the twins with Stanley against them. The other two weren't suppose to join but an accident occured that got Robert a face full of a green and white volleyball from two mischievious twins

The score was tied and each team only needed 1 more point to win. Alistair served sending the ball to the opponent's court but Dememtry quickly caught it giving Dennis time to set it for Stanley to deliver a powerful spike to their side, but Robert was in the nick of time to block it back to their side

This went on for a while until both teams were already tired but both wanting to succeed. Stanley delivered the last spike of the game which a dizzy Robert couldn't reach in time as it hurdled towards Alice, who only saw it through her also dizzy and tired gaze coming toward her before she blacked out

* * *

><p><em>Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.<em>

The sound of ticking was the thing Alice 1st heard as she slowly regained consciousness

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

Her head was still fuzzy and her body felt weak all over making her unable to open her eyes

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

What is this? Where was it coming from?

She stiffened as she slowly opened her eys, her vision blurry, but despite that she could just make out what was in front of her...

_Tick. Tock._

... a clock

Alice sighed as she gazed at the little trinket in front of her. It was too small to be a wrist watch but despite its size, she could clearly see it was already 6pm and the intricate designs and carvings of said clock looked very familiar to her

Where has she seen that before?

"So, you're awake, girl" the voice surprised her and she stiffened before moving back from the clock and looking into Stanley's ash gray eyes as he seemed to be carrying her

"S-S-Stanley! What the-?" she stuttered out, starting to blush crimson and feeling panic rise within her being but she was quickly cut off when she heard Alistair's voice

"She's awake. Put her down here, Stanley" he said in monotone, pointing to an empty bed and Stanley quickly followed his orders and placed her in said bed

"Wh-Where are we and where are the-?" but she stopped short after scanning the room and realizing it was the nurse's office - due to the bed's and peach colored walls - and spotting three unconscious figures on the beds next to her's. "Are they okay?" she asked nobody in particular, worry painting her features

"Fainted. They'll live" was Alistair's short reply as he sat on the bed next to her's - the one where nobody was lying on - while Stanley merely leaned against the wall across from across her bed and next to a billowing white curtain that she guessed separated them from the office part of the nurse's office

This theory was soon confirmed when a nurse suddenly came in seconds later clad in a white nurse's outfit with cap and bandaged her arm that she didn't know was injured until she touched it and when she was finished, she placed blankets over Robert and the twins as they slept

She comely exited behind the white curtain afterwards saying she was going to give Alice some medicine for her arm

She inspected her bandaged arm for a moment before attempting to twist it around so her palm would face the ceiling but a stinging pain made her stop and sigh out loud in both fatigue and annoyance. Now she was unable to do anything that would require much effort like, for example, punching Robert when he gets one of his crazy ideas again, but that's only until her arm heals though

Speaking of Robert, said man started to stir in his bed and slowly sit up, looking a little disoriented. "Wh-Where am I? What time is it?" he asked tiredly, wiping his eyes before reaching into his vest pocket since his jacket was at the bed's foot board

"Are you alright, Robert?" she asked without realizing it, leaning towards him a little even if they were still a good distance apart

But as he turned to her, taking out the item he reached into his pocket for, Alice immediately noticed what it was

A pocket watch

She looked at the item in his hand, at its brownish silver casing with intricate carvings on the rim, the complex pattern used on its black hands telling the user what time it was and, more importantly, the clock's numbers. Although in Robert's watch, the numbers 12, 3, 6, and 9 were replaced with a heart, a diamond, a spade, and a clover written on a plain white background

As a child, she'd loved the little time telling device because it looked so pretty and Robert always had it with him since they 1st met, never parting with it. Until she turned 12 and told him to get a regular wristwatch instead but he completely refused, saying his watch was irreplaceable since it came from his ancestors and passed it down to him. She respected what he said and she knew how precious it was but honestly, it was the 21st century. Who carries a pocket watch these days? And also there were plenty of times where she thought it would break by how fragile it looked

But now she questions the little trinket and turned toward Stanley who looked back at her with wondering eyes. She looked him up and down and finally landed on the black choker necklace around his neck baring a skull ornament in the middle, sitting against his throat

"Stanley. Can you turn your head to the right a little?" she requested calmly, not thinking of what the others around her might think

His eyes widened a fraction for a second then smiled smugly, "Why? You got the hots for me, girl?" he asked, his tone quite pleased with himself

"Why you-" Robert began but she cut him off

"Just do it" she didn't mean to sound forceful but she had to confirm her suspicions, one way or the other

He continued smirking but did as told, showing her what she wanted to see. Sitting there on the left side of his choker was the watch she saw when she woke up in his arms. It wasn't just an ornament, that she was sure of, for it ticks meaning it was definitely a working watch and, despite its size, it looked _excatly_ like Robert's

"Stanley" she called his attention, satisfied with what she saw

Seeing as she seemed to have found what she wanted, he turned his head back towards her before answering, "What? Like what you saw, girl?" his tone was obviously blanlantly flirting with her

But she didn't care about that

_Yes_

"Where did you get that watch?"

The room froze

Everyone was silent in that small clinis in the President's Building. Except for the AC that hummed in the distance, nothing else could be heard. The 5 males in the room - including the twins, who had woken up to their conversation - seemes to have stopped breathing all together

Alice sensed the tension and turned to Alistair who was staring blankly at a wall but his shoulders were dead stiff. The twins looked like they were still asleep while Stanley was just wide eyed like he'd seen a ghost

After a couple more sconds, Alistair was the 1st to speak. "Well Alice..." he dragged out sitting up after sighing and looking at her almost angrily

But Robert quickly sprang back to life, "No! No, Alistair!" Robert growled standing up as well as glaring daggers at Alistair across him

"She has to-!"

"No! When I say no, I mean no!"

Alistair finally glared, getting impatient, "I don't have to follow you, Rabbit!" he shouted angrily

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!" Robert repeated frantically, his eyes wild

_What was going on here?!_

"Both of you stop it" Alice tried to plead but was otherwise ignored

"You have to te-"

"I don't care! NO! I won't"

"Do it!"

"Dammit! Shut up!"

"STOP IT!"

The scream silenced the two, sending their eyes to the girl sitting on the bed shaking in anger and frustration

She gritted her teeth unable to hold herself back any longe, she grabbed Robert's collar pulling him and punching him square on the cheek and then going for Alistair, emitting the same blow to his cheek. Both landed on the beds with a heavy thump as her temper boiled

"Both of you better shut up and calm down! I don't know what you two are talking about but I'm sick of it!" she yelled angrily at the two as they tried to collect themselves

Alice took her bag and stormed off, shoving the nurse harder than she wanted. But she didn't care, she wanted to get away from there. She wamted them to leave her alone.

She wanted answers.

* * *

><p>In a thick forest at the north of London, where trees stood tall engulping the forest floor with little sunlight and woodland creatures went about scurrying around to find food, stood a house of blue and white<p>

Its exterior was simple and modern with tall window panes and white doors, a stone driveway leading from the intricately designed steel gates to the front porch and the lovely rose bushes with no blooms as of yet, planking the path's sides

The inside was also simple with wooden stairs leading up to the 2nd floor and a long hall lined with bluish white doors that lead to the resident's rooms

But beyond one of these doors lay a room where two people stood outside of, waiting for the room's occupant to answer

Knocking echoed throughout the hall as one of the two tapped his knuckles against the wooden door, wanting the man inside said room to open up for them. The other woman with him looked both worried and frightened for the one beyond these doors.

Though the man inside will never know, he'd never answer their calls either, he'd wait for them to leave him alone in his dark room, reminiscing the happy days he had as a child...

... which were soon going to end

He was sure of it


	10. 9 o'clock

***9 o'clock***

_**Ding!**_

It was 7pm now. The night was dark and cold, the wind whistling across the path and shaking the leaves of the trees. Owls were hooting in the distance along with the frogs and grasshoppers making themselves known as they made the music of the night.

But singing along with these sounds was one tone that was unknown. A silent tapping sound of hard rubber against marble and an occasional sighing coming from someone who was both tired and miserable

Alice was now starting to feel dizzy with fatigue and drowsiness, she'd spent a lot of her energy punching the life out of Robert and Alistair along with dashing out of the infirmary as fast as she could.

And now she'd ended with this, walking all the way out of Lutwidge Academy and its ridiculously long pathway to the gate, before she could catcha train towards home. She should've just hitched a Ride with robert when his limou passed her as she was hiding behind a bush. But oh no, she just had to let her pride rule over her. Stupid

She sighed out again, feeling rather silly now since she's been sighing almost every ten steps she makes, but there was no point laughing at herself about it, she had to save her energy for the long trip home and...

"Alice?" upon hearing her name she looked around to find where it had come from and when she looked to her right, she was met with the emerald green eyes of Hunter Madison, as he sat inside what looked to be a black car.

Why hadn't she heard them coming? She must be more tired that she originally thought.

Before she could answer him another head popped out of the window and it was the excited cerulean eyes of Matthew

"It is Alice!" he cheered excitedly, his eyes shining with delight. He quickly got out of the car from the other door and went to her, holding her hands, "What are you doing here Alice? Are you waiting for someone? Huh? Huh?" he asked, looking like he was about to jump up and down with glee right then and there

But she held his hands tightly to calm him down and stopping him from doing so, "I'm actually going home Matthew. But-" though Hunter suddenly interrupted her as he stayed where he was and looking at them from the car window

"Going home? You can't honestly be_ walking_ home, are you?" he sounded insulted like what she said was utter blasphemy

Somehow his statement completely ticked her off

She faced him squarely wanting to give hunter a piece of her mind, "Well excuse me if i'm not as filthy rich as you, you jerk. I might not have a fancy car like you but that gives you no right to insult me and what I want to do!" she yelled at him as he stared at her wide eyed

Matthew quickly slipped in between her and the car, trying to calm her down, "Wait Alice! Calm down. I think you misunderstood what hunter means and-" but the girl wasn't listening

"Calm down? Calm down! Don't you dare tell me to calm down, Mat..." her vision suddenly went blurry and her head was swimming as her legs gave out from under her "...thew"

The bright light from the lamp post beside them was the last thing she saw before she passed out

* * *

><p>Matthew was very worried<p>

He sat there staring at Alice's sleeping form as she lay in bed in one of the guest rooms in their mansion

She's exhausted herself too much yesterday where she just collapsed right in front of them. The doctor said she'll be fine with rest but he still felt worry

Another of yesterday's events also made him worry

Robert did not show up

It was so strange seeing that empty seat in the meeting hall at the very end of the left side of that long table. He usually sat there, defending his side and refusing to comply no matter how many times they had tried to convince him

But he always said no and agrees to fight all of them, all against one either physically, or verbally. He was never the kind of person to run away or give up on what he wanted or believed in

It was the trait that made Matthew both admire and hate him, for - due to these actions - it made him completely and utterly selfish

Robert White was selfish

He was also selfish for not showing up yesterday

The meeting that was so full of noise, yelling and life had dwindled into nothing, not even a mumur. The dead silence manifested itself within those walls, but it did make all of them realize what Robert, most likely, had already known

Matthew heard Alice stir in the bed and when he approached her to see if she was awake, he heard her mumbling something

"... Alice in a... world filled... with wonder..." her voice went quietly and he merely stared at her, sleeping form

They knew the time was coming

Alice

* * *

><p>Edgith White<p>

Robert and March's mother and the President of Lutwidge Academy

It wasn't much of an idea but an ephiphany

She had the thought of asking Robert's mother what she wanted to know. It was an heirloom as Robert had said, that pocket watch. So, Mrs. White must know of it as well, right?

But if it was an heirloom, how could Stanley have the exact same watch on his choker? Aside from size, the two watches looked exactly the same

Though could it be just a coincidence? It was possible that they were given the same type of watch by their ancestors but she needed to know what the President would say, just to be sure

After all, if Robert wasn't going to answer her about that, Mrs. White was the only other person she can get it from

Alice walked into the President's Building and made her was to the top floor to where she knows the President's office was, when she climbed up the steps she noticed that the space she saw was a completely circular open room with only a single pair of double doors to be found right across the stairs and a chandelier was hanging from the ceiling right in the center of the space

She walked towards the doors, noticing the giant LA made from square colored pieces of tile placed on the shiny floor and she suddenly wondered how long it must've taken to make it. She brushed these thoughts away as she sauntered to the door and knocked twice

"Come in" came a voice from the other side and she did as told, entering into a spacious room of water yellow with a large brown table to the left and a young girl, roughly the same age as Alice, sitting across it

What was more confusing was that the girl was wearing a Hearts Field uniform, making her wonder if she truly was the office assistant of the President or someone else. But she really was the asssistant as Alice soon found out

"Good morning to you miss. How may I help you?" she asked politely, her bouncy, short golden hair falling around her face

"Is it possible for me to speak with President White now?" she asked, matching the girl's politeness

"I see. Please wait a moment then. I will ask Ms. White if she'll be able to" she requested and Alice nodded as the girl sat down and pressed an electronic devide on her desk much like the one she sees on TV where it usually leads to a sole receiver

"Good morning to you Miss White" she greeted to the device as she pressed the rectangular button below the speaker when she released it, a familar voice came from said speaker

"Good morning to you as well miss Cattaleya. Does there seem to be a problem?" the voice asked, wondering and Alice couldn't help but feel like she's head it just yesterday when she was scolding Robert for drinking all the carrot juice in the fridge when they were only 8

"No, not at all madam. But there's a student from Clover Field here to see you" she said glancing up at Alice before turning back to the machine

"Oh? Send them in then"

"Yes"

When their conversation ended the girl let her go to the large pair of double doors sitting closed across the one she had entered before and as she stepped into the President's office, she caught sight of a beautiful woman with long cinderella blonde hair and sitting in front of a large mahogany desk filled with all sorts of office items and paperwork

Alice lightly closed the door behind her, "Good morning to you, Aunt Edgith" she greeted happily and the woman looked up at her by the door, a little surprise coloring her eyes

"Alice? Alice is it really you, my dear?" she said excitedly, standing up from her leather chair and going to Alice's side where she hugged her tightly. When she broke the hug she looked right at the teenager's face in glee, "You've grown so much. Come, sit with me" she pulled her to one of the two seater couches in front of her desk, and Alice only realized she hadn't seen Robert's mom ever since Christmas last year so she hadn't really grown at all probably

Alice sat down and Edgith went to the device on top of her desk that Alice saw on Cattaleya's desk a while ago, "Ms. Cattaleya, please prepare me and my guest some tea and bring it to us" she requetsed to the device, leaning over it slightly

But it wasn't the polite girl that Alice met a while ago that answered, it was a male voice, "Forgive me, madam White for my tardiness though Ms. Cattaleya had already left for classes but I will gladly fulfill your order" he said without much emotion in his voice

"Of course, it's no problem at all, sir Night and please do" she said before ending their conversation

Sir Night? What would Ezekiel be doing here? But no, that wasn't his voice, wasn't it?

But Alice had no time to dwell on that further as Edgith sat beside her with a smile on her face, "So how have you been dear? I haven't seen you in such a long time. My son hasn't been giving you any trouble, has he?" she asked excited, then pouting, then worried.

Alice shook her head, "No. No trouble at all" - she wished - "and I've been good Aunt Edgith. Mother misses you very much" she explained, recalling that the two haven't met since Christmas either due to Edgith's busy schedule

They used to always take 3 days a week together before Edgith became the new President of Lutwidge almost 5 years ago so now they mostly only see each other during Christmas or other occassions, since like she and Robert, her mother and his were the best of friends

"Yes I haven't been able to see Lorina much nowadays. How is she?" she asked curiously

"Mother has been well. She's gotten good at knitting as well. She told me once that she wanted to knit you a scarf for next Christmas" she said, remembering when her mother went home one day carrying a book on knitting, followed by her saying she was making one for Edgith

The woman smiled wamly, as if reminiscing such good cherished memories, "I'll be waiting for it then" she said, wanting to see her old friend soon

The door suddenly swung open and came in was a man carrying a tray of tea cups and a porcelain kettle, "Your tea madam" he said placing the tray on the low wooden table in front of them

"Thank you very much" she told him kindly while the blonde beside her stared at the tall man before them

Aside from his silver hair and golden eyes, he looked identical to Ezekiel. Sir Night? He was Ezekiel's brother, no, they were _twins_

Upon noticing her staring, he smiled at her, amusement-coloring his eyes, " Is there something wrong, miss?" he asked, straightening himself and towering over her

Her expression turned to surprise and embarrassment as she quickly shook her head and looked away, "I'm sorry. You just look familiar is all. Do you have a brother or relative studying here in Lutwidge, sir?" she asked without even realizing the words were already out of her mouth

He looked to have thought it over, "Oh. You must be thinking of my brother then, miss. Have you met him before?"

But Edgith suddenly quipped it, "You mean Ezekiel? Have you met him before Alice, and Charles as well?" she asked, making Alice turn to her

She nodded, "Yes. We have a class together along with Robert" she answered, smiling

"Odd. Robert never told me he had a class with Charles" she said pensively, crossing her arms over her chest

"Do you know Charles and Vivianne, Aunt Edgith?" Alice asked, since she didn't know about them until only 2 days ago

"Yes, they were childhood friends of Robert's but due to academic reasons, they lost contact with each other some 5 to 6 years ago. Did he not introduce you to them before, Alice?"

Alice shook her head, no. "He never told me of them be-" but she was cut off when a knocking sound came from the other side of the office doors and Ezekiel's twin went out to answer it, leaving the room

The two women looked at where he had gone, wondering who it could have been, but Alice suddenly rememebered her reasons for coming there in the 1st place. The watch

She turned back to her aunt, "I forgot to tell you why I came here, Aunt Edgith" she started and the woman turned to her curiously before nodding for her to continue

"You see, about Robert's pocket watch-" but she was cut off a second time when the door was suddenly opened again by the Night sibling

"I'm sorry to intrude but there's a visitor that wants to see you, madam. He says it is urgent" he said, calmly and Edgith nodded to him before standing up

"Wait for me for a while, dear. I'll be just a moment" she promised to Alice with a smile

"No, please take your time" she said, her question could wait anyway

Edgith and the Night sibling she still did not know left. The door was closed, leaving Alice in that spacious office

She merely sat there for a while thinking of nothing in particular aside from wondering who Edgith's guest was, and looking around the office, at the bookshelves stading against the wall, the large window behind the desk and the chandelier of gold hanging from the ceiling

She stood up and went towards the window, for the lack of something to do and 1st saw the Clock Tower standing in the distance, the large watch indicating that it was going to strike 10 soon

But unlike the 2 days that passed, she didn't have to be worried of being late or absent, since she had no classes today, she came especially to see her aunt today and made the entire trip alone without telling Robert. She told her mother she was going out with some friends today just in case he would ask her mother where she was

You could see the entirety of Lutwidge from here, was Alice's thought since if she looked to her left, she could see Hearts Field and to her right was Clover Field, while across the Clock Tower was the Main Builiding

When she finally looked away from the window, something on the bookshelf caught her eye

She went towards the shelf and looked up at it, from the binder she could tell the book was a light yellowish orange but the odd thing was that it had no title, all the other books beside it contained some form of lettering on it but that single mysterious book was blank

Of curiousity, she went on her tip toes and tried to reach for it but it was just out of her reach, she stretched higher finallly reaching the top of the binder but when she was pulling it out of its place, it stopped halfway and the bookshelf she was leaning onto for support moved backward causing her to fall into a very dark entrance that appeared behind it

And down she went.

* * *

><p><strong>(AN: Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed your stay here with us ^_^ Stay tuned for 10 o'clock)**


	11. 10 o'clock

**A/N: I'm so sorry this' so late. But please enjoy anyway! ^_^ I do not own any AIW related work or merchandise just this story :))**

* * *

><p><strong>*10 o'clock*<strong>

_**Ding!**_

Alice Fageon was alive. Scratched and bruised here and there but she was alive at least

Falling down stairs was definitely a painful thing and one experience she would not want to repeat

She got up carefully, feeling the sting of pain from different parts of her body but luckily, she wasn't injured in any way despite the stairs she had fallen from being made of stone

Her mind was still spnning and a bump seemed to be forming on the back of her head but she still had to think and figure out where she was

It was a hallway, a very dark hallway with eerie lighted torches lining the walls and illuminating it. It was a hallway straight out of a horror movie and the stairs she had fallen from seemed endless behind her.

She thought about which way she should go and choose to go forward, thinking that whatever trap door she had opened behind the President's bookshelf was probably closed by now

But why would her aunt have a secret passage like this in her office? Evacuation purposes? For what? Dark ominous hallways didin't seem like the a good idea for evacuation if you asked her. And this was a school after all, why would a prestigious school have one of these?

Is it possible her aunt didn't even know there was a hall like this that existed? Possibly. But this was built by her grandfather, could he have kept it a secret from her or maybe even his entire family?

Alice thought of all this as she walked through the seemingly endless stone hall she was in. More questions were being left unanswered and she was growing very suspicious of Lutwidge and her best friend

Wait

She stopped in her tracks

Is it possible that everyone she knows in this school could be part of this?

Robert is cousins with Seigfried, who is enemies with Stanley, who is friends with Alistair. While Alistair serves under Vivianne, who is Charles' sister and Ezekiel's friend, while he has a twin who works for her aunt Edgith, who is the President of Lutwidge and the mother of Robert and March. While March is friends with Hunter and Matthew. But what of Dennis and Demetry? Right. Alistair and Seigfried is friends with them. Then what about Phillip? He's the Clover Field Student Council President and he said he was a frequent visitor of the Lutwidge Academy President.

Alice paled. They were _all_ involved. But on what? And why? And how? Maybe-

She shook her head. No she was over thinking things again. There was just no way her friends - and half-friends - could all be involved in something catastrophic or dangerous

Could they?

BAM!

Alice's forehead came in contact with something hard and metal. She took two steps back and held her forehead as a new bump began forming on the spot where she collided with the hard surface

She already told herself she should watch where she was going but it seems she just wouldn't listen to herself

She looked up at the object she hit and saw a door standing before her. Her exit

She quickly took the cold metal handle in her hand and pulled it open, revealing a place that made her gape in awe and wonder

The door closed behind her as she looked at the circular space. There was grass growing on the ground, the walls were made of brick with a few stray weeds growing in between its cracks and the ceiling was covered in vines and leaves with light seething into the room from in between the greenery.

In the very middle of the place stood a solemn tree of a type she did not know and strangely enough, a large hole could be found beside it, the darkness within seeming endless.

It looked like a rabbit hole, was Alice's thought as she stood there, staring at it.

She did not know where she was and how her day planned only for talking to her aunt ended her up in this strange place but somehow, for a reason she did not know, she was compelled to walk forward towards the tree and kneel right in front of the rabbit hole.

How strange it would be if she fell in there?

And what if she did?

She was about to proceed to go in. To discover what would lay in the other side. To know the freedom of falling. If she could perhaps end up on the other side of the world or even see how deep this hole would go

But as she blindly reached in, waiting for gravity to take its course, a pair of hands suddenly clamped on her shoulders and pulled her away from the rabbit hole, and in the process, snapping her out of her trance

"Alice! Alice!" it was Robert, he was screaming at her and shaking her shoulders, a little bit too excessively actually. And she had to slap his hands away to make him stop

"Enough, Robert! I'm fine!" she glared at him angrily. It was already bad enough she had two bumps on her head making her dizzy

The white haired man was intially shocked before smiling like the happiest man in the world and hugging her tightly

"Oh Alice! I thought I lost you!" he cheered, tears of joy in his eyes

Too tightly

"Let go of me!" she yelled before pushing the deranged man away. "Honestly what is wrong with you?! And lose me to what?" she questioned, annoyed written all over her face

This seemed to have woken him up from his inner celebration and his face turned serious, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet with him. "Let's go. We have to leave this place, Alice" he rushed out hurriedly, before leading her to the circular plight of stairs that she didin't notice was there when she first came in

But before they could make it half way through the room 2. No, 3 people descended down the said stairs making them stop, "Not so fast, Robert" came the smooth voice she knew was Hunter's as he appeared at the bottom of the steps with Matthew and March in tow

What were they doing there? More importantly, what was Robert doing _here_?

"We won't let you take, Alice!" Matthew declared, determination in his eyes

Robert took a step back, pulling Alice behind him as if shielding her from them

"Forgive me Robert but this has gone long enough" that was Charles' voice

"I agree with Charles" and that was Vivianne but she couldn't see them since robert was completely blocking her view

"You can't hide Alice anymore" Seigfried

"We want Alice now!" Dennis and Demetry

"Please give her up, Robert" Phillip

"I'm going to enjoy beating you up, White" Stanley

"Please, Robert..." Edgith "...as your role as the White Rabbit"

White...

...

Rabbit?

And Alice was suddenly brought back to her childhood

_A ra-?_

When she chased a little rabbit and fell down a hole

_A rag-?_

Only to be saved by a boy

_Mr. Rabbit!_

"No" The voice was so soft almost everyone even alice did not hear it

"No. I won't let you take Alice away from me" Robert annnounced, his tone grave and serious, but holding the fire of his resolve

A moment of silence passed within that room filled with 14 or so people, all quietly absorbing what the white haired man had said. Until someone finally spoke up, "Hmph. Quite frankly, I've grown tired of your stubborness, Rabbit" his tone was menacing, and Alice chanced a peak around Robert's arm where she saw a crowd of people around them and Alistair stepping forward from beside Stanley, a sword in hand

Robert seemed to have gritted his teeth, stepping back causing alice to step back as well

Alistair kept advancing on them, she could hear his every step as it sounded like the only thing to be heard

"Wait. You can't be serious about this, Alistair" March suddenly said, his tone holding a tinge of worry

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, and since it seems he doesn't want to comply with us any time soon. I'll teach him a lesson" before his footsteps started to come faster and Alice's fear rose inside her chest

Robert hastingly turned and hugged her, using his body as a shield but as he bent over she saw Alistair's sword coming down on them

A scream was ready to come out of Alice's throat as she stared at the blade with horrified eyes but at the last moment, the blade stopped in mid air and was followed by a deep unknown voice speaking

"Shouldn't you know any better, Knave of Hearts?" the voice went and Alice looked down from the blade to Alistair's hand where a much larger one was encircled around his wrist, stopping him from taking the blade down

"Walter" she heard someone gasp in the background, she off-handedly realized it was Edgith

Then the hand took away the sword, earning a sigh of relief from Alice

Robert then stepped back and revealed the two men before them. She immediately noticed the sword was gone from both men but had no time to dwell on it further for the tall black haired man began speaking again

"Step aside, Knave" it wasn't so much an order for his tone had not even risen a notch though Alice heard the authority it held, and Alistair must've heard it as well for he stepped to the right to give the tall man path toward her and Robert

Her heart started pounding against her rib cage as he came forward and looked directly at her small form with his unreadable bluish-gray eyes and suddenly a chill went down her spine, hopefully, unnoticed by the tall man

She could tell he was not the type to be messed with

"So you're the 3rd Alice now. You do _resemble_ an Alice" he commented as if telling them about the weather but question marks immediately came up in Alice mind.

3rd? Alice? Huh?

"P-Pardon?" she mentally slapped herself when the words left her. Way to look like an utter dork.

His eyes widened by a fraction but it was gone as quick as it came, "It seems what the 2nd Alice has been telling me was true" he told, more to himself

But Robert suddenly stepped in between them, "That's because she's not Alice" he argued, his tone irate

Walter looked at him, "But she is here, is she not? You have led her here, and as the King of Hearts has said, this charade has gone on long enough. This' what everyone has decided and that is that" his tone was full of authority but it was obvious that Robert wasn't backing down

"But she's not Alice-!"

"Because you won't let her be"

For a moment it was a staring contest between the two. Robert glaring angrily and Walter with no readable emotion in his eyes

"She is still not the 3rd Alice"

"But everyone has already decided"

"But I still get the last say"

"You're abusing your power, White Rabbit"

"Because this was the role given to me"

Silence.

"And so is mine" his tone sounded like an unvoiced challenge

While the girl with them stood confused, all their talk of roles, Alices, and what not were making her head swim. But she knew they were talking about her and Robert was refusing something that concerned her. But what?

Alice. White Rabbit. Knave of Heart. Where have she heard of these before?

A game? A book? A story?

A thought suddenly flashed in Alice's mind. Her dream.

Alice in a world of wonder.

Alice in Wonder World.

Alice in Wonderland.

They neeed an Alice in Wonderland.

"Wonderland" she spoke quietly to herself but both males turned to her immediately

But what if...

She faced the men in front of her squarely, "I refuse to be your Alice in Wonderland"

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks for reading ^_^ See you next chapter**


	12. 11 o'clock

**A/N: Hello again everyone. Just dropping by for another chapter. Fell free to review afterwards, constructive criticism is always welcome. I hope you enjoy your stay here. Read and Enjoy! *bow* ^_^**

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><p><strong>*11 o'clock*<strong>

_**Ding!**_

_Once upon a time, a girl named Alice sat by her older sister when a white rabbit wearing a waistcoat and carrying a pocket watch came close by her. She followed it down a rabbit hole into a world called Wonderland, where she met all sorts of strange creatures like a grinning Cheshire cat, a mad hatter, a queen of hearts who had an addiction to execution and so many more she could not even count with her own fingers._

_But what if... Alice never came down to Wonderland?_

A teenager with blonde hair woke up with a start. A dream?

Blue eyes looked up at a white ceiling with a florescent light to the side turned off, she sat up slowly and looked around the unfamiliar light green room with a single door to the right and another to the left. A gray couch was in between the doors against the wall.

When she looked to her left since her right only contained a window showing a tall glass building outside, there was an IV drip hanging by a pole and attached to her hand as she felt a needle embedded into her skin where the line ended. And right beside her was a man sleeping soundly, his head lying right next to her leg.

Robert. What was he doing here? What was _she _doing here?!

They were in a hospital or a clinic by the looks of it but why? Obviously she was the patient, but there was nothing-Oh.

Alice cut her thought midway as she looked at her right arm, the upper part and her hand were wrapped in bandages. When she tried to move her fingers, small pin pricks came from the places where the bandages were. Her left arm had similar treatment only less and her cheek seemed to have been scratched for there was a piece of gauze taped onto it.

But how did she get so injured? The last thing she remembers is...

"Alice. You're awake" she heard Robert exclaim from beside her as she saw he had already sat up straight. "How do you feel? Does it hurt anywhere?" he asked in a hurried rush

"No. I'm fine. But what happened Robert? How'd I hurt myself so badly?" if he was here, then he probably knows why

"Aunt Lorina told me you fell down the stairs and they rushed you to the hospital. I've been here since yesterday afternoon when she called me" he explained, worry painted all over his features

She fell down the stairs? How? Why can't she remember?

"Are you sure, Robert? I don't remember ever falling yesterday" she told him. She vaguely knows she did fall but not at home. Where then?

His expression turned solemn, "You must've hit your head harder than we expected. You must've forgotten the whole thing. I'll go call aunt Lorina and tell them you're awake" he said before standing up and leaving Alice in her room

She looked at the door where Robert disappeared into, her mind desperately trying to recall of yesterday's events but coming up only with her dream. Her walking down a dark hallway and a sword coming down at her.

_I refuse to be your Alice in Wonderland._

She had also said that, but to who? And why?

Maybe it wasn't a dream after all.

* * *

><p>He was leading her there<p>

They told him he was leading her there

But that was his role, right?

He was to lead Alice down the rabbit hole to Wonderland

For her to start the story again

For her to meet all of the Wonderland characters

For her to make so many new friends

For her to save Wonderland

But.. that wasn't happening now, wasn't it?

The story had still not started yet

Alice still hadn't fallen

And Wonderland was still deteriorating

Did he care? Of course he did

If Wonderland died, he'd die too

He'd leave this world and Alice

So why was he doing this? Preventing Alice from falling?

...

Because he couldn't bear it

Letting Alice fall meant losing her as well

Losing her to Wonderland

He loved Wonderland, he really did. It was his home, the place he belonged

Seeing it gray and vanish broke his heart

But he also loved Alice. She was his everything

So what was a poor rabbit to do?

He's protected Alice all these years. Hidden her away from them. Kept her away

But now they found her

And how did that happen?

Because he led her there

The role of the White Rabbit

Has been both a curse and a blessing for him

With it he met Alice

And with it he had to give her away

But he didn't want to

Because he was selfish

She was his Alice, not theirs

He won't let them have her

He won't...

He won't...

And yet they still met her

In the blink of an eye, they've all seen her, spoken to her, heard her name.

Because he wasn't there

They had planned it

They had wanted him out of the picture

They had hated him

And he had hated them

He couldn't get rid of them

Because they were part of the story

They were part of Wonderland

Alice or Wonderland?

Could he chose?

Will he?

Should he?

Could he?

Of course he could

But was it right?

His role would say it wasn't

Even the past White Rabbits before him

They would all chose Wonderland

Because they lived for Wonderland

...

He didn't

He lived for Alice

For her smiles

Her laughs

Her happiness

Alice made him what he was

He would never abandon her

Never

Then does that mean leaving Wonderland

Yes, yes it did

...

Then so be it

* * *

><p>A stoic black haired man sat idly inside a wide room with a high ceilling. He was in front of a long brown table with only a single cup and a small porcelain sugar cube contained above it, and placed in front of him<p>

He sipped his coffee slowly, tasting the bitter sweet taste on his tongue, before putting his cup back down

"You're late, White Rabbit. Everyone has already left" he said, loud enough for the man he knew was standing by the door to hear

Footsteps resounded in the room as Robert approached his chair, the one a seat away from Walter's right since the black haired man sat at the end of the table

"I'm aware. Forgive me, I've been in the hospital all day" there was no hint of regret in his tone as he sat down

"Is it that girl? You did bring her there is such a sorry state" the image of the girl he saw 2 days ago flashed in his mind, with dirt all over her uniform and cuts and bruises all over her arms and legs

Robert gritted his teeth and glared at the man before him, "I didn't bring her there. I had no idea she was even here in Lutwidge until I called my mother to ask if she's seen her" his tone was defensive and he was already fed up with everyone saying he was leading Alice to Wonderland when he was actually doing everything in his power for her not to

"Then the girl had come here on her own free will and had almost fallen into Wonderland" he placed his cup down again and looked at Robert darkly, "And yet you had stopped her, did you not?" the look dared him to deny it

And Robert didn't, he denied something else, "But she's not Alice. She is not the Alice we're looking for" he argued. Robert was not truly immune to Walter's looks, but he had enough will to stop himself from cringing in fear

Walter looked away from him and sipped his coffee before speaking again, "Then have you found who _our _Alice is then?"

Robert shook his head. Honestly he didn't care anymore, he'd stopped caring when he met Alice, "No, I haven't"

"Then it is to say that you have made us all wait for more than 10 years for a girl that is the_ wrong _Alice" he stated, not questioned. Robert met Alice when she was only 5, on the day they became human, Alice was 18 now

"I kept telling all of you she isn't Alice but no one would believe me. You were all completely convinced she was Alice ever since the 1st day I met her" he tried to control himself from yelling since he knew he was beginning to get on Walter's nerves

The man's sharp bluish-gray eyes glared at him angrily but Robert kept his ground and when he thought the older man was going to yell at him, he merely sighed and drunk down the last of the coffee from his cup

He sighed a second time afterwards, "So it seems you won't be changing your mind anytime soon, White Rabbit. Then what business do you have with me for coming here?" he asked tiredly, followed by his voice turning serious again

Robert White refused to smile and it hurt

For right then and there, after so many years, he had finally convinced Walter that Alice was not the one they were looking for. It felt like a dream come true, and if the Watcher had finally agreed to him, it be easier to make the others bow to his wish

And if they didn't... they had no choice

* * *

><p>"What?! This' an outrage! Their banning us from seeing Alice!" the shrill voice of Vivianne Hart exclaimed as Ezekiel had recently relayed to them the news from Ms. White<p>

"But why though?" Charles Hart asked in deep thought, his chin in his hand

"I'd like to ask the same question. I bet that Robert was the master behind this whole fiasco. I demand to see Walter and Edgith! Ezekiel, tell our driver we're going to Lutwidge Academy this instant" she yelled at the blonde male and he bowed before leaving to follow the woman's orders

"You look awfully worried, Vivianne" Charles commented nonchalantly

"Well of course I am. We've only just met Alice after all. That Rabbit's coveting her like some object" she screeched, her tone furious before exiting the living area and going to her quarters as Charles did the same

The black limousine drove through the London streets and into the Lutwidge gates, as the people inside stood unprepared for the young woman's wrath

Or not

The Hart siblings and their cousin Night elegantly entered Lutwidge Academy to go to President White's office as if they were only going to attend some simple school matter - since they had no classes scheduled for today

The siblings had a reputatin to keep up after all, they were known throughout the campus especially in Heart Field as the Heart Field President and her genius sibling who was a top student

If students saw how Vivianne truly acted, she'd lose all her credibility and the students trust in her

When the 3 entered the office, which they've known to be always quiet and serene whenever they came to see Edgith, they found that it was in complete disarray. The room was cramped with people with shout and complaints coming from everywhere as all tried to talk to the poor blonde older woman behind the desk

Everyone was already there except of course, for Robert

She could understand, she would cower in fear if she had to face all of them at once like what Edgith was doing

"You can't be serious, aunt Edgith. Why can't we talk to Alice?!" Seigfried demanded, irritated with the news

"Yah, why can't we?" one of the Weald twins went

"We're not hurting her or anything!" said the other. Vivianne could never truly tell them apart

"Please, Ms. White. Tell us why we've all been banned from seeing Alice" Matthew pleaded, tears coming to his eyes

"Wait. Calm down first everyon. I beg you" Edgith requested, gesturing to all of them to quiet down. Eventually they did and each stepped back from the Lutwidge Academy President's desk, finding themselves their own place to settle on

Now that the noisiness had gone, Vivianne could finally unbox her ears and listen to what the President would have to say. After all, it would be better to talk to her before the Watcher since the man disliked being interrupted when it wasn't their meeting time yet

Their meetings were usually held at night every other day and since they won't have another until tomorrow, Edgith was the only one left to ask about the issue

The strawberry blonde girl sat on one of the two person seetee's infront of desk and next to her was Phillip while Hunter sat across from them. They all turned to Edgith as they waited for her to speak

She cleared her throat and spoke, "As you all know I've announced that you are all, under any circumstances, prohibited from talking to Alice Fageon at anytime inside and outside of the school premises. The Watcher had told me this yesterday and requested I announce it to all of us. However, he did not tell me of his reasons as to why so, unfortunately, I cannot answer many of your questions as of now. I only suggest we wait until our meeting tomorrow so you can all ask them to the Watcher personally" she explained looking at all of them, and her eyes showed that she really did not know

All? She can't be serious! What about-?!

But Vivianne was cut from her thoughts when Hunter suddenly spoke, "If this condition applies to all of us. Does that include the White Rabbit?" he asked smoothly and the room went into silence

And from that, they knew that someone was an exception

Phillip's speaking had broken it, "You seem to be protecting Robert, are you not, Ms. White?" he asked and the woman turned to him with wide eyes

Though her expression soon morphed to carry regret, "Of course, the Watcher had told you the news as well as I"

The black haired man nodded, "He also told me that this new rule was upon the request of the White Rabbit" he raised a hand as if to stop those around him from making any comments, "On the basis that we were disturbing a nomal girl who isn't the 3rd Alice" when his explanation ended, Phillip dropped his hand and noise once again erupted from the room

"But we weren't disturbing Alice at all" the Weald brother said unison

"That good for nothing..." she heard March say to himself as she saw his face contort in annoyance

"Alice!" Matthew wailed with teary eyes

She felt bad for the boy while she herself was seething in anger within. If they were still in Wonderland, she'd have the man beheaded but of course they weren't, and she couldn't do that anymore even if she wanted to

"Then..." Alistair's voice went rather loudly, making them all turn to him, "... Alice isn't our _Alice_. They did file a complaint after all" he said as if in very deep though over the matter

"B-But..." Matthew said quietly, his voice trailing off

"But Alice is Alice..."

"... isn't she?" the brothers looked at each other in confusion

"Well Robert has been telling us all this time that she wasn't _Alice_" Charles pitched into the conversation

"But she is Alice. Robert already chose her to be the 3rd" Seigfried defended

"How are you so sure?" Vivianne asked, sensing something amiss with the man

He stiffened up, "Well... Because..."

Behind him, March suddenly went and placed a hand on his shoulder, "You've already met Alice from before, haven't you?" the brown haired man's tone was accusing

Sea green eyes widened, "What?! No! I only met her in school 4 days ago!" he said but made no move to look back at March

"Then how are you so convinced she's Alice? I hadn't even known she was Alice until Robert suddenly came with her in tow"

"I agree with March. I only knew the girl was Alice when she was standing with White during our Gym class. Other than that... she was with you, pretty boy" Stanly mentioned, his arms crossed over his chest before his eyes turned accussing like March's

The man bristled in annoyance but before he could say a retort, the twins suddenly spoke up next, "Oh yeah, Alice already knew who you were when she met you, Seigfried" one of them commented as if recalling said event

Then both glared at him, "Explain to us how that exactly happened. Hmm?" Seigfried sent them a glare of betrayal

"W-Wait a minute. I must've been the 1st one she met. I did almost run her over when she was running to school" he said without thinking and realized too late that it was a very bad thing to say

Chas exploded in the room as everyone except the quiet ones started yelling at Seigfried and he tried defending himself, total chaos only came when Stanley challenged the said man and everyone else wanted to join in

It was just like with Robert in the room, but currently he wasn't there, so they'll settle for a certain brown haired male instead

Good luck to you, kitty

"AH!"

* * *

><p>"Well that wasn't much of a fight at all" Stanley Blake complained grumpily as his dusty brown haired friend walked beside him, dusting his jacket sleeve since there was a brown patch on it when he fell to the floor a while ago<p>

"Normal. I'd be annoyed as well if my office with such limited space were thrashed by a bunch of teenagers like us" he said nonchalantly as if nothing happened

Stanley stretched out his arms in the air, sighing, "Ah. It's good to be young" he felt the wind passing his jacket sleeves as it blew through the forest where they were walking in

A moment of silence as he placed his arms down and put his hands in his pockets then suddenly patted his friend's shoulder

"Calm down Alistair. They'll find Alice soon" he told him without looking his way

Alistair smirked, "Ironic. You're one to talk. You and I both know we've been wishing Alice was never found at all. No, I'm more concerned about the_ not_ Alice" his said, his tone turning amused for only a second before becoming nothing again

"Jealous are we? But at this rate, White'll succeed in pushing the girl away from Wonderland. That'll give us longer freedom and keep the dreaded one away from us" he explained, refusing to have an image of that person settle in his mind for even a moment

"I know. The better actually. I plan on nabbing someone to spend this freedom with" Alistair raised his hand before him and clenched it tightly as if he could reach his prize right then and there

Stanley let out a low whistle, impressed with his friend's determination and confidence, "Then you're in for a fight there" he commented and Alistair looked at him from the corner of his eye

"Are you playing?" he asked after a pause, his expression unreadable

The blackish gray haired man turned away from his gaze, "We'll see. After all she isn't Alice" he told him and both knew they'd be fighting each other someday

But first... everybody else


End file.
